Disconnect From Desire
by Arbmaster 16
Summary: Every bad thing to happen has been caused by someone, whether it was Dr. Eggman, Mephiles or someone else hell-bent on world destruction. But what happens when there is no villain? When there is no direct way to halt the course of action? No way to save those around you and no way to save yourself? Can people cope or will they fall when the circumstances are out of their control?
1. Not As It Seems

**Hey guys and girls! How have you all been? I know it's been a long time since I last uploaded anything, mainly because of massive writer's block, but college and personal issues didn't help either.**

**Anyway, this is a story I've been writing for a while now and I can't wait to share it with you! :D**

**On a side note, my chameleon, Sage, is still around. He says 'hi'. :)**

**I hope you all enjoy this story! Feel free to R&amp;R! I appreciate the honesty, as long as it's constructive.**

**Arby xx**

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to SEGA. I simply freak out over them. That is all.**_

* * *

Every day was the same. Charmy would be sat watching cartoons and trying his hardest to ignore Vector's complaints as he read the newspaper at his desk. Espio would usually be in his room meditating, trying his best to ignore any and all commotion that came from downstairs. Despite this usual daily routine, they all seemed content, especially Charmy who appreciated the 'normal' life more than anyone realised. He noticed every little detail from day to day and was thankful for each and every part of it.

Today was just like every other day before it. Espio was in his room while Vector and Charmy were downstairs. The bee was watching cartoons and trying his best to ignore… nothing. He snapped out of his trance when he realised that Vector was silent at his desk. The small insect turned to see that he was reading the newspaper as usual, but wasn't complaining about every single headline. A small stab of anxiety could be felt at the pit of his stomach, while his mind told him that he was overthinking things. Still, he was curious and decided to venture the situation further.

"Hey Vector?" The child asked, but the reptile gave no response. One eyebrow lowered and Charmy grew a little irritated thinking that he was being ignored.

"VECTOR!" He yelled unexpectedly giving the croc a fright.

"AH! Huh? What? Oh, hey Charmy. What's wrong?" He replied. Charmy widened his eyes at his response.

"What's wrong with me?" He said, almost feeling insulted. "What's wrong with you?"

The crocodile sighed. "What're ya talking about, Charms?" The bee rolled his eyes, irritating Vector a little before answering.

"How come you're not complaining at every little thing in the paper today? Plus, when I called your name the first time, you either ignored me or were off in your own little world. Basically what I'm asking you, is if you're alright?" Vector knew he was being serious by the look on his face. It had 'serious' written all over it, which made the usually stubborn croc a little uncomfortable and began to look anywhere except at Charmy. The little insect noticed instantly and his expression grew to one of concern. Vector sighed again.

"I've just got… a lot on my mind, okay?" His voice was a lot calmer and even quieter, as if not wanting someone else to hear.

"Why are you whispering?" Charmy asked.

"I just don't want Espio to hear because then he'll ask what's wrong and I might snap at him and I don't want to do that." The croc spoke unusually quickly, making it obvious to Charmy that he was nervous, but why?

"You'll snap at him? Did you guys have a fight?!" The insect asked in a panic.

"No! It's just… it's complicated, alright?" Charmy became irritated once more.

"Hey, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I can't listen. Sure, I may not understand all the adult situations like you and Espio can, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I came over here to see if you were okay and to see if I can help in any way, but the only way I can do that is if you let me." Vector was speechless for a few seconds by Charmy's sudden mature attitude. He felt bad for misjudging him.

"_Maybe I can trust him with this… at least once anyway."_ He thought to himself.

"I'm sorry, Charms. I seem to forget that you're growing up real fast. I guess I still see you as that little guy we met on Angel Island." They both smiled at the pleasant memory, but Charmy was the first to bring them both back.

"So, are you going to let me help you or not?" His ability to get straight to the point was something Vector thought could be of use to him.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you gotta promise me that this doesn't reach Espio. Do you understand?" The bee nodded excitedly and sat on the desk in front of Vector. The croc breathed in and out nervously. He could barely say a word, which made Charmy worry even more.

"It's alright, Vector." Charmy reassured which to Vector's surprise, actually seemed to make him feel a bit better.

"Ok Charms, you're right. I have been very distracted and the reason for that is because Espio has been on my mind a lot."

"Is there something wrong with him?" The boy asked innocently. Vector giggled a bit.

"Nah, he's fine, don't worry about him. He's been on my mind for a different reason, one which I'm unsure you'll understand." The bee scratched his helmet as if scratching his head trying to guess what was going on, but in the end accepted defeat.

"Just tell me, Vec. You never know, I might get it." The green reptilian nodded in agreement and even pat Charmy on the head, who smiled wide in response.

"Well… at first even I didn't know why I kept thinking about him. I thought maybe I was coming down with something because whenever I was near him, I'd get a stomach ache…" This caused Charmy to think again. He had an idea of what was 'wrong' with Vector, but he didn't want to say anything in case he was wrong. Instead, he stayed quiet and allowed Vector to voice his problem.

"…But then I woke up real early the other morning and I thought about it forever. Before I knew it, the penny dropped and I felt ill just thinking about It, which made me more convinced that it was what it was."

"And what was that then, Vector?" He tried to speak normally whilst trying to hide a very smug grin. He knew and so did Vector.

"I don't wanna say… but that creepy smile you have suggests that you already know." Charmy couldn't help but giggle under his breath. He then looked Vector dead in the eyes, which seemed to scare him half to death.

"You love him, don't you?" Before he knew it, Vector was on the floor. Charmy, of course, found his reaction hilarious and couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter until he saw Vector's aggravated face once he'd gotten to his feet.

"Did you have to do that?" He asked, clearly not amused.

"In all seriousness Veccy, that's awesome!" He began to fly around excitedly which eventually brought a small smile to Vector's face.

"Thanks little guy, but it also dawned on me that morning that it may never happen." Charmy froze instantly and felt saddened by Vector's words.

"But why?!" He yelled causing Vector to shush him.

"Because I have no idea if he, you know… swings that way." The bee child sighed with relief.

"Oh, is that all? Just go and ask him then." The crocodile shook his head quickly.

"No way! Do you know how awkward that would be? I'm not as 'to the point' as let's say… you." The bee looked up at him slowly with a blank expression.

"You want me to ask him, don't you?" He thumbed up Charmy and gave him a toothy grin.

"Pretty please?" He tried to say in a higher-pitched voice, but failed and made Charmy jump a little instead.

"You owe me a massive jar of honey for this." Suddenly, Vector ran up to the bee and hugged him tightly.

"Deal!" He exclaimed happily before letting him go. He buzzed up the creaky wooden stairs of their small shack and quickly glanced back at Vector, who obviously watched him fly all the way up here, before venturing into the chameleon's room.

* * *

Espio opened one eye, sensing that someone was near him. He could see a small bee head peering around his door and looking around his room. Ninja weaponry was neatly hung on the walls, one of the reasons he doesn't let anyone in, but this case was an exception. Firstly, Charmy didn't barge in and second, he actually asked for his permission before walking in and closing the door behind him. The bee sat down in front of him with a blank expression, not knowing where to start.

"Something is wrong. You are unusually reserved today." He started, the bee nodded.

"You could say that, but there's nothing wrong with me, it's just… something came to mind and now I have a very personal question I need to ask you." Espio looked at him with a confused look.

"_Personal?"_ Espio thought for a second before nodding.

"Whatever it is, I'll answer with honesty. You know that." Charmy smiled and nodded back before putting his serious face back on.

"Well, this was literally a thought that came out of nowhere, but there was something I wanted to know, about you specifically." The bee shifted awkwardly which Espio picked up on, but didn't mention.

"What is it then, Charmy?"

He sighed and figured that his usual directness would be the only way to get it out.

"Are you into guys or girls?" An enormous blush appeared on his face as he stared at the floor. Espio grinned at his embarrassment before reassuring him.

"That's a very fair question, Charms, and it takes a lot of guts to ask something like that." The bee looked up in surprise and smiled wide.

"Thanks, Es!" He said happily before rushing over to give the ninja a hug. The reptile slowly pat the bee on the back, but also thought hard about his answer. He had never been in a relationship before and in all honesty, never thought about love much. Deep down though, he knew what he liked and despite never telling anyone, he wasn't ashamed in the slightest or even worried about what other people might think of him.

"To answer your question Charmy, I'm not exactly fussy. If I were to be with someone, I wouldn't care about gender as long as we were happy." An 'aww' escaped Charmy's mouth before he spoke.

"Thanks a bunch Es, I feel a lot better, but now that I know, can I ask a hypothetical question?" Espio shrugged and nodded. "If let's say someone like… I don't know, Vector was to ask you out, what would you say?" Espio was caught off-guard and definitely had to think about it. Vector was his best friend and not once had he thought of him in that sort of light. He snapped out of his thoughts to notice Charmy staring at him with his head to the side.

"Honestly Charms, I've never thought of Vector in a romantic sense before and to tell you the truth… it feels weird and not a good weird either. If that were to happen then I wouldn't be able to accept because we're friends and we work well that way." Charmy felt guilt slowly fill up inside of him, but hid it very well.

"That's alright Es, I was just curious is all." He forced a smile as Espio pat him on the head. "I'll let you meditate now, I'm gonna go watch cartoons." Espio nodded once more before the bee left his room and shut the door.

* * *

Before heading downstairs, Charmy took a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He could see Vector trying to read the paper again, obviously trying to take his mind off of everything else. The insect felt bad for the news he was about to tell him. He took a deep breath and made his way back to Vector's desk.

Upon noticing the bee, the crocodile immediately put the newspaper away and locked his eyes on him.

"So, what did he say?" There was a hint of excitement and nervousness in his voice, which were both about to be extinguished.

"Firstly, he said gender doesn't matter to him, which I'm guessing means he likes both guys and girls however…" Charmy stopped and looked down at the desk he was sat on. Vector tilted his head, but said nothing. "I also asked, in a hypothetical sense, what he would do if you asked him out…" Vector blushed and gave a quick glance to Espio's door before looking back at the saddened bee. "… He thought about it and then said he couldn't see you that way and would say no if you were to ask." Vector leaned back in his chair and gave a loud sigh.

"Oh…" It was only one word, but Charmy could easily tell that his friend was in pain.

"I'm sorry, Vector." The reptile then got up and pretended to brush it off.

"Hey, it's alright Charms. You did real good doin' that for me. I'm just gonna head to my room now." Before Vector could take another step, Charmy grabbed his hand forcing him to turn and face the young bee. He was met with a glare which honestly scared the croc. The bee's eyes demanded honesty and Vector sighed in defeat realising that was what Charmy deserved.

"Alright Charms… I'm hurt and I just need some time alone. I'll get over it, just give me a few days." The child's expression softened and he nodded at the older croc before letting him go to his room. Charmy then went outside and flew to the roof where he watched the sun set. The sky was alight with vibrant reds, oranges and pinks, which were slowly fading into gentle shades of blue and purple. He remembered coming up here all the time when he was younger, but seemed to drop the habit eventually.

"I really should start sitting up here more often. It's so pretty plus, this weird calmness comes over me, which I can't explain, but I like it." He laid there for a while, until the night-time breeze sent chills through the bee's body. He decided that it was a good time to head to bed.

* * *

Three days had passed and Charmy was yet again sat watching cartoons, but he was more distracted now than he ever was when Vector was in the room. The bee couldn't help but glance back at his desk every so often, only to see no one sat at it. He slumped back down and rested his head on his hand. He felt terrible. Suddenly, he heard a door open from upstairs. The little insect turned quickly to see that it was Espio coming out of his room after some meditation. Charmy sighed to himself and sat back down. Espio sat next to him and could tell that something was wrong.

"Hey Charms, are you ok? Where's Vector?" He asked in his usual deep, yet soothing voice.

"He's been in his room for the past three days and I'm worried about him." The chameleon pat the bee on the shoulder.

"Why has he been in his room?" Charmy panicked a little trying to think of an excuse.

"He thought he was coming down with something, so he went into his room for some rest, but that was three days ago." Espio then turned and looked at Vector's door before looking back at the concerned child.

"I'll try to talk to him. You stay here." Charmy nodded and Espio went to knock on Vector's door.

"Hey Vector! Are you alright? You haven't been out of your room for days. Charmy said you weren't well."

"_Thanks Charms, I knew I could count on you."_ Vector thought, realising that Charmy had made up that excuse to cover him.

"Don't come in here, Es! *cough cough* I don't want you to get whatever this is!" He yelled from his bed. He tried to keep his composure, but hearing Espio's voice didn't make his situation any less painful. The only person he ever truly cared for is the one person he can never have. That thought alone made Vector's voice tremble and Espio was able to pick up on it.

"You sound upset, I'm coming in to see if you're okay."

"No!" Vector responded. Espio grew a little suspicious.

"I either come in now, or I'll come back later and come in whether you want me to or not. This is getting out of hand, Vector."

"Ok, ok…" Vector sighed in defeat. "Come back later Espio, just not now… please…" Espio sighed quietly to himself, but agreed nonetheless knowing that this was the best he was going to get.

"_There has to be something more to this. What is he hiding?"_ The chameleon looked back at Charmy who seemed to be watching cartoons and oblivious to what happened upstairs. He was forced to brush it off for now and went into the kitchen to make dinner. He opened up the cupboards and to his annoyance, found no food.

"How the…? Charmy! Where has all the food gone?" He yelled from the kitchen. A small whimper came as a response.

"Uh… I may have eaten it all… but usually Vector gets more, but um yeah…" He had his usual "please don't kill me" look. He wasn't mad at him, just irritated and went to the phone to order a pizza instead.

* * *

An hour and a half had passed and with Charmy devouring most of the pizza, it didn't take him long to doze off on the couch. Espio carefully put a blanket over him making sure not to wake the sleeping bee. He smiled a little and then remembered back to Vector. The ninja silently made his way upstairs and knocked on the croc's door. He got no response and knocked again just to be polite, but he knew he was going to go in anyway.

"Vector?" He whispered as he went through the door. Upon further inspection, he could see that the green reptile was asleep. He kneeled down making sure to remain silent as to not wake him. His hand moved to his forehead to see if he had a temperature. He had none.

"_A little odd."_ Espio thought, but brushed it off and swiftly left the room to allow the croc to sleep in peace. Tears began to roll down the crocodile's face. He opened his eyes from pretending to sleep and silently cried to himself. He thought the pain would get better, how could he be so upset over something that never happened? But having the chameleon so close to him tore his soul apart.

"Dammit, I can't do this… I can't, I can't, I can't…" He whispered over and over again to himself until he fell asleep.

* * *

Both Espio and Charmy were up early the next morning, but there was still no sign of their 'head honcho' downstairs. The chameleon knocked on his door again and got no sign of life in return.

"It's still early, Es. Maybe he's still asleep." Charmy stated. Espio agreed.

"You have a point. Vector was never one for early mornings. I'll give him another hour." They both went downstairs and had some breakfast. After a minor disagreement on what to watch while they ate, Espio put on the news channel.

A husky in a dark blue suit appeared who was telling the week's upcoming weather.

"Temperature's will be rising over the next week, which is good news for any beach-goers out there."

"_Nope."_ Espio thought.

"_Yeah!" _Charmy thought.

"Experts are predicting a major heat wave. While this is not certain, it could be the worst heat wave in the past two decades, so everyone is reminded to stay well hydrated and wear plenty of sun block. More info to come later in the week. Have a good day and goodbye for now." By the time the weather had finished, both Espio and Charmy had finished breakfast and turned the TV off.

"I had better check on Vector. In the meantime, it's your turn to wash up." Espio said with a smug grin. Charmy huffed, but did as he was told.

"Vector, are you awake yet?" Espio said calmly whilst knocking loudly on his door. "Come on, Vector! You need to eat!" He began to yell.

"_That is it!" _He thought in annoyance as he barged into the crocodile's room.

"Vector, you need to-" He cut off. Looking around the rather messy green and black room, he found no sign of the croc anywhere. He studied carefully, but the most obvious detail was the only window in the room. It was open.

"Charmy?" He said, still sounding calm.

"Yeah?" The bee replied from the kitchen.

"We're going on a little trip." The ninja growled.


	2. Not What You Think

**Hello! I'm back again!**

**I'd like to thank you all for the feedback I received. Reading comments and hearing thoughts from friends and other writers really made my day! I'm glad that I am able to write stories like this for other people to enjoy, just like others that have written stories that I have enjoyed. :)**

**Moving on, here is Chapter 2! I hope you enjoy!**

**Arby xx**

**P.S. Sage says 'hello' again. He likes grapes! :)**

* * *

"_Perhaps I'm taking this too far? No! That pain… it hurts so much! I just want to forget about it all. What the hell was I thinking? He's my best friend… I'm sick! I'm twisted and broken!"_

Crazy thoughts kept echoing through the lost croc's mind. Was he losing it? Were his actions justified? Either way, he hated himself for it, but if one thing was certain, he couldn't go back. Once Espio realised he had gone then he would realise something more than just an illness was plaguing the reptile's conscious. He made his way to a field where flowers went on as far as the eye could see. A place like this wouldn't normally interest the croc, but he knew one thing was special about this particular field; it was where Espio came to meditate every so often. He sprawled out within the tall grass and closed his eyes. A gentle breeze glided across him, which kept the reptile cool. He relaxed instantly until his mind got to thinking again.

He wondered where his feelings came from. He and Espio had been friends for years, yet this never came up before. Just thinking about his chameleon companion sent butterflies through him, it was a feeling that he enjoyed until he thought back to Charmy's words. A deep sigh escaped him.

"I'm sorry, Espio." He began talking to himself in a hope that speaking his problems out loud would make him feel better. "I'm a horrible friend to ya. Why can't I just forget? Why can't we all just forget?" He fought back his rising tears and snuggled into the grass as is if was comforting him.

* * *

"Come on, Es! You're smart! If you were Vector, where would you go?!" The young bee pestered.

"Look, I don't know, okay?!" Espio snapped, silencing Charmy instantly. "Uh, my apologies, I'm just at a loss as to why any of this is happening." Charmy nodded in understanding, but secretly he felt incredibly guilty. "We should begin searching the city, that's usually a good place to run. If you search the streets then I'll search via the rooftops and see if I can see him from up there." Charmy nodded in agreement before he flew quickly down the road. Espio began leaping up the sides of buildings.

* * *

"Vector? VECTOR!" Charmy kept yelling his name, but it was no use. He tried desperately to get into the reptilian's head and figure out where he could've gone, but a painfully loud engine distracted the bee from his thoughts. Suddenly, a motorbike pulled up in front of him.

"Uncle Shadow!" He squeaked cheerfully. The black hedgehog didn't seem too amused by his new nickname, but didn't comment on it.

"What're you doing out in the city all by yourself?" He didn't care all that much, he just wanted to know why.

"Actually, Espio and I are looking for Vector. Have you seen him?" Shadow read the child's eyes carefully and could sense his worry. Even he knew that it was unusual for Vector to disappear without telling his comrades.

"No, I haven't seen him at all. Hop on." Charmy's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"R-really?!" He stuttered. The mammal sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah come on." He leapt on without hesitation and the two sped off around the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, Espio was effortlessly hopping across rooftops scanning each street below for a large, bright green crocodile in the crowds.

"Ugh! This is hopeless." The chameleon took a second to think, but even he was at a loss. "Why Vector? I don't understand." His head shook with frustration, but he still kept on searching to stop himself from thinking.

* * *

A few hours had passed and the sun was just beginning to reach the horizon. Espio was taking a break and making the most of the stunning view from on top of a skyscraper. He looked down to see a familiar motorcycle parked in front of a café.

"That can't be…" He muttered to himself before leaping down to the quiet street below.

* * *

"So, you have no idea why he just up and left like this?" Shadow questioned Charmy. He took another sip of his soda before answering.

"Nope." He replied blankly. Shadow raised an eyebrow, he knew that Charmy was hiding something, but came to the conclusion that it was for a good reason to avoid getting more involved. Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow saw movement and instantly prepared his Chaos Emerald behind his back. Fortunately, he saw who it was before a Chaos Spear was fired.

"Shadow, what are you doing out here?" The ninja questioned making the hedgehog become slightly defensive.

"Why? Am I not allowed to travel where I please?" Espio shrugged off his snide comment and turned to Charmy.

"No sign of him, then?" Charmy shook his head, clearly saddened.

"I take it you didn't find anything either?" The bee asked with little hope. The response from Espio was the same.

"So, neither of you two know why he left or where he went? Wow, some teammates you guys are." Shadow grinned smugly at his own sarcastic comment, feeling quite proud of himself. Espio made it clear he felt the opposite.

"He didn't give us any warning nor did he tell us where, alright?!" The chameleon snapped. Charmy sunk back in fright while Shadow tried to calm him down.

"Take it easy, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. He's only been gone a day." Espio put a hand to his head, feeling a headache coming on.

"You don't understand. Vector has never done anything like this before, that's how I know this must be at least somewhat serious." The mammal studied the stressed reptile.

"Espy, are you ok?" Charmy interrupted, trying to change the subject.

"I'm fine Charms, must be the stress getting to me." Shadow raised a brow once more thinking that there may have been more to it, but again didn't bring it up.

"I can keep helping you, if a certain pink lizard doesn't mind?" Shadow grinned again.

"Firstly, I'm purple and secondly no, I don't mind. Feel free to give us a hand, hedgehog." The black mammal's grin only grew, knowing that he was getting on the chameleon's nerves, even if he did try to hide it. The ninja breathed out loudly and regained his composure to some extent.

"Come on bee, we'd better get home. It's getting late." But before he could take a step, Charmy noticed a slight problem.

"Uh Espio, we're on the other side of the city. By the time we make it back, it'll be dawn." Espio gritted his teeth and growled under his breath knowing that Charmy was right. He grabbed his head again, which caused Shadow to throw a concerned look Espio's way before walking over to him. He gently placed a hand on the reptilian's shoulder making Espio look up at him.

"Are you alright? If need be you guys can stay at my place for the night since I'm joining you in the search anyway." Espio gently nodded in agreement. Shadow took a second to stare at the chameleon. He noticed his eyes were slightly squinting, giving the indication that he was quite a lot of pain. "I've even got headache pills if you need them." The chameleon forced a smile and nodded again before they all made their way to Shadow's house which was nearby.

* * *

They came upon a 3 story, black house on the outskirts of the city. It was clear that Shadow had done well for himself since becoming a G.U.N. agent. The living area, kitchen, a bathroom and the door to the huge garage were on the bottom floor with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a study on the second floor and 3 bedrooms and another bathroom on the third. Shadow sent Charmy to the third floor, most likely to get him out of the way while Espio was in the room next to his.

Once he was settled with a glass of water and some headache pills next to him, Espio looked around his room. It had one window, although admittedly a large window, white walls and a red ceiling. A large, HD TV was screwed to the wall and there were 2 closets near the door. In the corner was an electric fan, which Espio decided to put next to his bed and turn on in an effort to keep himself cool.

"_Much better."_ He thought before quickly dozing off.

* * *

The next morning, Shadow and Charmy were downstairs. The bee was enjoying some toast while Shadow chose not to eat.

"Maybe we should get Espio up." Charmy said after finishing his last piece of toast.

"We?" Shadow started. "He's your friend, you get him up." Charmy frowned.

"You don't see Espio as a friend?" The bee questioned.

"I barely know the guy. Besides we didn't exactly hit it off yesterday." Charmy buzzed over and sat next to the hedgehog on his 5-seater, black, leather couch.

"He's just worried about Vector. I think you guys could get along, you're both so… serious all the time." He smiled, but Shadow's expression remained the same. Charmy went upstairs realising Shadow wouldn't say any more on the subject. He knocked on Espio's door and quietly entered to see the chameleon still asleep. Charmy repeatedly poked him in the head until he opened his eyes and grunted at the small bee.

"Not like you to sleep in." He said, but Espio barely paid attention and sat himself up. "Why'd ya have the fan on?"

"It was warm in here and I couldn't sleep. The fan made it easier, plus the drone it made gave me something to focus on rather than worrying about 'you know who'." Charmy's expression saddened.

"Do you think he's okay? Do you think he's gonna come back?" He asked looking for a bit of hope, but Espio was always honest whether it hurt or not.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's a big croc and he can take care of himself. As for coming back, I don't know, Charms." The bee sighed and gave a small nod. Espio followed him downstairs to see Shadow still sat on the couch.

"Morning." The reptile started, but Shadow only gave a huff as a response and got up.

"If you guys are ready, then we should start searching again." Charmy agreed as did Espio who quickly grabbed a cold apple from the fridge and ate it.

"But, where do we start?" Charmy asked and looked at Espio, who looked at Shadow, who looked out of the window.

"The only things in this direction are the forest, desert and the mountains beyond that." Shadow stated.

"He wouldn't go there." Espio began. "We could search the city again, but that would be another day wasted if we don't find any sign of him and who's to say he hasn't left the city already?" The ninja then scratched his head, unsure of what else to say.

"I doubt it; we've both seen how crowded the subways can get." Charmy stated. Espio thought again about any possible places where Vector might have gone, until Shadow interrupted his thoughts.

"One more day won't hurt him. We'll all search the city again and ask around to see if anyone has seen him." It was a start and the other two agreed. Espio would search from the rooftops again while Shadow would search the streets on his motorbike.

"What am I gonna do?" Charmy whined feeling a little left out.

"You are going to find anyone we know and ask them to help us in our search, okay?" Espio told him. Charmy buzzed excitedly and they all left the house to get to work.

* * *

Shadow was casually riding through the city. He seemed so relaxed that no one would ever think that he was looking for someone.

"Damn, it's warm out here." He looked towards the sky to see not a single cloud. He felt exposed for some strange reason, but shrugged it off and tried his best to keep himself focused despite the heat.

* * *

Charmy meanwhile, had run into Sonic, Tails and Amy who all agreed to help look for the missing reptile. His hunt continued until a familiar bat halted him.

"Why the rush?" She asked in her usual seductive voice. Charmy felt nervous. He didn't trust her in the slightest and always had the feeling that she was going to kill him at any moment.

"Uh, I'm looking for Vector… have you seen him by any chance?" His voice trembled and his body shook. It wasn't hard for the bat to notice and couldn't help but question it.

"No, I haven't seen him. What's up with you, anyway? Are you scared of me or something?" He trembled more, but managed to form a glare and clench his fist behind his back.

"N-nope."

"That would be a lot more convincing if you weren't shaking, but I'll let you off since you're just a kid." She pat him on the head, which seemed to ease his nerves a little. "I'll keep an eye out for him though."

"Thanks, Rouge." His voice was steadier now and he flew off to find others who could help. Rouge smirked as the bee disappeared in the distance.

"He's so scatter-brained, it's almost cute." She grinned at this new info and scanned the skyline. "Everyone sees your rambling as annoying, but to me it's actually useful." She paused. "…and they have no idea."

* * *

He made it back to Shadow's house just as the sun was setting. Both the hedgehog and chameleon were sat in the living area. Espio had severe sunburn and Shadow was putting cream on his back.

"You're a reptile; shouldn't you know about stuff like this?" Espio grunted in annoyance. Shadow was right and he felt like an idiot.

"I do know, it's just… I was focused on finding Vector, ok?" Shadow could hear the embarrassment in his voice and tried to change the subject.

"You really are worried about him, aren't you?" Before the ninja could answer, Charmy flew in and flopped on the couch with a grunt.

"Tough day at the office?" Shadow commented sarcastically. Espio chuckled, but then began to question him.

"Find anything?"

"Sonic, Tails and Amy, who are now helping us, and then I ran into Rouge on the way to Cream's house. She said she hadn't seen him either, but would keep an eye out." Shadow huffed, which caused the other two to give him a weird look.

"I highly doubt she'd be helping us even if she says she would." Shadow started.

"Why not?" Espio questioned.

"You guys don't know her. She helps no one except herself and the only thing she keeps an eye out for is anything sparkly or worth money." The other two thought about it and eventually nodded and agreed with the black hedgehog.

"But…" Charmy began, getting the other's attention. "Why would she say she'd help then?" Shadow shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Either to get you to go away or on the off-chance of Vector having something valuable, her finding him and then taking it since he's most likely on his own. She is a thief, remember?"

"What?!" Espio exclaimed in a sudden burst of anger. Charmy hid behind the couch in fear. The top of his head slowly rose while the rest of him remained hidden.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. Espio calmed and reassured the bee before Shadow interrupted to question Espio's outburst.

"Why so mad, Espio?"

"Vector wears a solid gold chain around his neck. You do the math." Shadow's expression grew to one of concern. "We have to either find Rouge and stop her or find Vector and help him." But before Espio could run out the door, Shadow held his arm and stopped him.

"There's nothing we can do now. It's dark out and we're all exhausted, especially with the heat. We'll start again tomorrow, okay?" Espio growled in defeat and eventually sat down, silently hoping, along with Charmy and Shadow that Vector was alright.


	3. Chameleon Chaos

**Hey everyone! This took a little longer than expected. I had this ready to go, until I read it through and realised that a lot of big events happen too quickly, which is a bad habit of mine. As a result, I rewrote the entire thing. Some events still happen, but not as before so that I can work with them in future chapters.**

**The idea now is that from this point on, things will get a lot darker, hence the M rating to begin with. Feel free to keep reading, but you have been warned. :)**

**Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I will see you again soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

The night felt endless. Stars twinkled gracefully from above while many dreamt the darkness away. Charmy and Shadow were sound asleep, but Espio lay awake as his mind flooded with thoughts. The chameleon knew he was tired, but he couldn't help but wonder if Vector was hurt or worse.

"Ugh! There's no point to this." He whispered, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep. He quietly got up and put on his shoes and gloves then equipped any weaponry he had, which was only a few shuriken stars and kunai. The others were not woken up as Espio crept out of the house and back out into the city.

* * *

Despite the outskirts being as silent as the ninja himself, life in the more built-up areas never stopped. Casinos ran on 24 hours a day, while clubs and bars housed the drunkards until the early hours of the morning when they would stumble home or die trying. Espio decided it would be best to stay out of the way of as many people as possible, so he remained invisible for the entire journey.

One club in particular, Chaos till Dawn, seemed to attract at least a thousand people per night and double on the weekends and holidays. Espio went there first, figuring that it was the kind of place where a thief bat would go. No such luck was with him tonight. Instead of returning home and getting well-rested, Espio decided to see if getting drunk really made all your problems go away, even if it was temporary. He was so sick and tired of worrying constantly that even a few hours break seemed like a haven.

The music was loud, especially near the large dance floor where the majority of people seemed to be. The ninja knew he hated places like this and questioned why he was here. He then caught sight of an empty seat at the end of the bar and decided that it was more welcoming than anywhere else. Once comfortable with his head resting on one hand, the barman came up to him and asked him what he wanted. Unfortunately, Espio's knowledge of drinks was non-existent and he struggled to answer.

"Uh… whatever you recommend, I guess." He was forced to yell over the music, but at least the constantly flashing strobe lights didn't reach this far back, so it was dimly lit by the lights behind the bar which Espio seemed to be content with. The barman returned with what looked like the usual can of beer. Espio didn't complain and handed over some money before opening the can and taking one long gulp. He cringed at the bitterness, but soon the pleasing taste of fruit began dancing on his tongue.

"_This isn't half bad."_ He drank more and with each mouthful, the bitter taste seemed to die down. Once his can was empty, he studied himself to see if it had any effect. His vision was fine and Vector still entered his thoughts. A deep sigh escaped him as he checked his wallet. 20 bucks seemed to glow at him and he asked the barman to get him another.

* * *

An unknown amount of time had passed, but the club was suddenly a lot quieter. The majority of people had left with only a few still dancing and others still drinking, including Espio. Every song sounded amazing and he couldn't help but sing along, not caring that he was horribly out of key and every word he sang was slurred.

"Of all the people I'd expect to see here, you are at the bottom of the list."

Espio turned when a familiar female voice spoke to him. Despite his vision being a little blurred, the figure standing before him was as obvious as the fact that he was drunk.

"Whadda you want?" He slurred with an attempt at a glare. She chuckled before beginning to mock the vulnerable chameleon.

"Aww, are you missing your friend?" She laughed right in his face. She was now beginning to grate on him and his voice showed it.

"What… did you say?" He growled clearer than before. His glare became more focused, yet the bat was still unaffected.

"Get over it, ninja boy. I know where he is and he doesn't care about you."

"Pfft, yeah, sure." His sarcasm caused the bat to grin evilly. He turned away and calmly left the bar. His feet stumbled most of the way home, but the chameleon was certain that he was alone until he was on the same road as Shadow's house. Rouge landed right in front of him which nearly caused him to fall over, but a nearby wall provided him with the necessary support.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I went back to Vector and he gave me this as proof." Espio froze when Rouge pulled out from behind her, Vector's chain. Both his mind and his voice box wouldn't work and he just stood there staring helplessly. Rouge's evil smirk returned knowing that she had finally gotten into the ninja's head. "Like I said before, he doesn't care about you. Just give up your search and go home."

"He wouldn't… he's my best friend. You take that back right now." His voice was stern and serious, but had no effect.

"Think about it, you're only around to earn him money, Charmy also. Why'd you think he just willingly gave me his chain? He could just buy a new one with all that cash and you don't get anything." She laughed some more, the empty streets made it seem so much louder.

A blinding fury seemed to boil within the chameleon; it was something he had never felt before, but it made him feel immune to the world and he was going to use it to his advantage. With almost no effort, he pinned the unsuspecting bat to the wall with one hand. She panicked at first, but then began to kick him in the stomach expecting him to fall to his knees and let her go. No such luck was with her tonight. The vast amount of alcohol he had consumed earlier combined with his anger numbed any pain Rouge thought she was causing.

"You're… stronger than I thought you were."

"Never underestimate a ninja." He responded. Her face went pale when Espio used his one free hand to pull out a kunai. Her eyes widened and she tried to think of some way to stop him.

"You would never end a life. You don't have it in you." She stated, hoping to remind Espio of his morals.

"You know, you're right. I wouldn't normally just end a life so brutally like this…" She breathed a short sigh until he spoke again. "…when I'm sober. Unfortunately for you, that is not the case." She panicked again and squirmed within his grasp but to no avail.

"Espio, wait! Plea-"

"That should silence you." He remarked as he plunged his kunai into her throat. A sadistic grin appearing on him as she slowly sank to the ground wheezing horrifically. He listened to her struggle until the inevitable. Once she was still, he put the kunai back into his wrist couplet and began to make his way back to Shadow's whilst singing at the top of his lungs and tripping over occasionally.

* * *

The sun returned, bringing with it another day of blistering heat. Many were already awake doing whatever they needed to, whether it was grocery shopping or lounging on the beach. Others were still in bed trying to sleep off the effects from the night before. Espio gradually awoke with the sun's rays keeping him blissfully warm. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to appreciate it thanks to his blinding hangover.

The chameleon looked around his room to see Shadow sat in a chair next to his bed with a mocking grin on his face. A groan left his throat knowing that he was not going to live this one down.

"So…" Shadow began. "…How was your night?" The hedgehog wasn't physically laughing, but Espio knew he was on the inside.

"Shut up, Shadow." His headache was aggravating him more than Shadow's words, but it still didn't help.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. What happened last night?" He was leaning forward hoping Espio would spill the beans.

"Everything is such a blur… I don't remember anything."

"_Oh if I had a nickel…"_ Shadow thought. "Well, it seemed eventful. Charmy and I found you passed out in a bush outside. Your loud drunken singing woke us both up." Espio covered his face out of embarrassment. He then noticed his glove was blood-stained.

"I must've cut myself on a branch or something."

"Typical drunk." Shadow chuckled as he received an irritated glare from the reptile. "I'll get you a bandage. Don't do another runner." The hedgehog got a faint grunt in return as he went downstairs. A knock at the door caught his attention and he decided that it was best to answer it first. The door was opened to reveal two police officers stood in front of him. He raised a brow, but said nothing.

"Morning, Shadow." One officer began. Shadow was never a fan of the cops, whether he was a G.U.N. agent or not and always kept his guard up whenever they were around. "Is Espio the Chameleon here with you?" The hedgehog thought about his answer and thought it best to figure out why they were here before he said anything valuable.

"No, he's not. Why?" He said dryly. The other officer answered.

"You haven't heard? Your friend Rouge was killed last night and Espio is suspected of being the murderer."

"W-what?!" Shadow stuttered. The words repeated themselves in his head, he simply couldn't believe it.

"We're sorry, Shadow, but if you see him then let us know immediately. You have a good day now." Both officers went back to their car and drove off. The hedgehog slowly closed the door and took a minute to gather his thoughts.

"_Espio? A killer?"_ The sentence alone seemed weird in his head. The chameleon was strong, that much was obvious, but he would never think of him ending a life. Shadow wanted answers and he was going to get them, headache or not. He returned to Espio's room to see his hands on his face, shielding him from the sunlight. Shadow slammed the door behind him, scaring the ninja half to death, but then clutching his head afterwards because of his headache.

"Did you have to do that?" He groaned.

"You owe me an explanation." The hedgehog growled. Espio turned to see a very angry-looking Shadow.

"What did I do?" The ninja asked.

"You tell me. What do you remember from last night?" He wasn't yelling, but he looked as if he was ready to punch him there and then. Espio thought back to the night before to take his mind off of Shadow's intimidating stare.

"I… remember someone else laughing. I remember being in a bar and singing a lot."

"Keep going." Shadow demanded and Espio obeyed.

"Uh… someone began talking to me and I remember tripping over a few times on the way home." Espio really thought hard. Shadow could see he was trying and therefore kept quiet. "I'm sorry, Shadow. I just can't remember."

"Here's a hint. Did you see Rouge at all last night?" His voice maintained the same growl. Rouge's name sparked his memory and the night began to unfold in his head.

"Yes! She was the one who came up and talked to me. She was talking about Vector and how he didn't care and that really got to me. So, I left the bar to try and avoid any conflict, but she followed me only this time, she had Vector's chain and began taunting me some more. I remember this rage coming out of nowhere and…" He stopped. Unable to speak as the end of the night replayed itself over and over again. He could see Shadow still glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You're a pretty violent drunk, you know that?" Shadow remarked.

"I'm aware…" Espio's voice trembled as did his body. He couldn't believe himself. The thought alone made his stomach churn and one more glance at his glove forced him to run to the bathroom to throw up, realising the blood wasn't his. Shadow followed to make sure he was alright. Rubbing his back seemed to calm the chameleon, who now had tears streaming down his face.

"What the fuck happened?" Shadow asked quietly, just in case Charmy had woken up.

"She kept saying that Vector didn't give a damn about me or Charmy and that we should just give up. Whenever she laughed it seemed to just… piss me off like nothing else ever has and I just used all of that anger to shut her up."

"Yeah, permanently." Shadow stated.

"How did you even know about this?" Espio asked. Shadow then explained that the police were now after him. The chameleon began to shake again, clearly in a panic. "Oh my Chaos! I'm going to prison! Charmy is going to have no one with Vector still missing and Rouge even knew where he was! Crap! I'm such an idiot!" Espio began hitting his head against the wall until Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him out of it.

"Would you take it easy? You don't have to go to prison."

"Then, what's the other option?" Shadow paused and stared straight into Espio's bloodshot eyes.

"We run." The ninja's bottom jaw dropped.

"I can't just run from the law! I killed someone Shadow, an innocent and I deserve to pay for what I did!"

"What if she wasn't innocent?" Shadow said, despite it being a long shot.

"How's that now?" The chameleon questioned.

"She's a thief, remember? For all we know, there could be bodies in her basement, including Vector's. She could've killed him and lied to you about it." Espio thought for a moment, he hoped that Shadow's words weren't true, but nothing was certain anymore.

"It's a possibility, I guess… not a nice one though." Shadow nodded in agreement.

"So, what do you say? We get out of here and find the truth without the cops on our back? Or you turn yourself in and rot in a cell whilst having no idea of how or where Vector is?" The ninja allowed himself to breathe deeply for a few seconds to gather some sort of thought.

"We run."


	4. One Extreme To Another

**Surprise! Ever since I finished Chapter 3, I've been a lot more focused, which made it very easy for me to write this chapter. Whether it'll be the same for the rest, I don't know, life is far too unpredictable these days. I guess this also makes up for the two week gap between Chapters 2 and 3.**

**I quite enjoyed writing this one actually. I'm not entirely sure why, but I guess it helps me to write.**

**Anyway, here is Chapter 4, much earlier than expected. Enjoy!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

After explaining the situation to Charmy, they were all agreed with only a few arguments. The bee desperately wanted to bring a jar of honey that he found in Shadow's kitchen and after being stubborn for twenty minutes, they gave the child his own backpack to put the honey into.

Shadow and Espio both packed anything that could be useful for survival, since neither of them would be able to go into the city once the cops had figured everything out. Anything they needed went into the compartment underneath the seat of Shadow's motorbike.

They all got washed up and packed weapons on the off-chance they got pursued. Espio, especially after the night before, had no intent to on using any of his ninja weaponry now knowing what he can really do with them. Shadow on the other hand almost hoped that the cops would come after them just so he could use his hand gun to get some impressive headshots.

Shadow and Charmy were the first to be ready with the hedgehog sat on his bike in the garage and the bee sat behind him. Espio was still in his room taking a minute to prepare himself for a journey he thought would change his life.

He sighed heavily a few times whilst thinking about what may be up ahead.

"_I could get caught. I could get killed. I could find out that my best friend is actually dead. Every outcome seems ghastly and I can do nothing about it. Yet he may be alive… I guess that's my only hope now."_ He went into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were still bloodshot and his face was angry, angry at himself. He no longer saw Espio the Chameleon, a proud and experienced ninja. He saw a ruthless murderer, not trained to defend those in need, but trained to kill those that deserved it, innocent or not.

A gentle knock snapped the chameleon from his thoughts. He turned to see Shadow leaning against the door frame with his arms folded.

"You've been up here for a while. Is everything okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned, which was odd to the reptile, but he didn't question it.

"Let's just go before I think myself to death."

"Understood." Shadow replied and they both returned to the garage.

* * *

Charmy was still sat on the bike humming to himself. Shadow sat in front of him whilst Espio sat behind.

"You, don't touch anything and you, don't fall off." Shadow ordered them both.

"Very encouraging words." Espio responded sarcastically.

"The last thing we need is us crashing into a brick wall." Espio nodded to try and stop the oncoming argument. The black hedgehog turned his attention back to driving and began to set off.

They all agreed that the best way to avoid any and all attention would be to get out of the city and the nearest place they could go would be the desert with the mountains beyond that. It seemed like a good idea at first, but one thing they all forgot about was the heat wave that was still in full force, which worried Espio the most. Being a reptile, he would be more exposed to the heat than the other two. He glanced up at the sun a few times and kept thinking about how the forces of nature were against him. The word 'karma' appeared in his thoughts a lot. Another glance and something in the distance caught his attention.

"Uh, Shadow? What colour are police choppers?" The hedgehog had a confused look when he asked, but answered nonetheless.

"Blue and white. Why?"

"Okay, well, it's not that then." Espio muttered to himself.

"Why?" Shadow repeated.

"It's just there's something black flying towards us." The hedgehog again looked confused, but suddenly an expression of panic was clear on his face as he quickly looked back to see for himself.

"Shit! That's a G.U.N. chopper!" Shadow exclaimed in annoyance.

"What's the difference?" Charmy questioned.

"Police choppers don't have guns, G.U.N. ones do." Charmy sunk back in fear at Shadow's answer. Even Espio was worried at this point and the hedgehog could see clearly as he looked into one of his side mirrors.

"_This is not what you deserve."_

"Charmy, hold on to me! Espio, hold on to Charmy!" Shadow ordered. The pair did so without question and the bike began going at full speed across the sand.

The chopper however, was able to keep up with the motorbike with no problem at all and even began catching up with it. The bee held on as tight as he could simply out of fear, but Espio was losing his grip. His breathing was very heavy and he had to fight to keep his eyes open. It soon dawned on him that the heat had finally gotten too much, but he was too weak to alert the others. In only a matter of seconds, the chameleon saw darkness and felt the sand on his back as he hit the ground. Charmy whipped around to see the ninja gone from the bike.

"Espio!" He screamed, getting Shadow's attention.

"No!" He panicked and quickly thought of something. "Charmy, do you know how to drive one of these?"

"WHAT?! NO!" The bee exclaimed. Shadow began to show him what to do.

"It's not hard, just hold this down and make damn sure it keeps going straight, alright?" The bee nodded, but it was obvious that he was terrified, so the hedgehog tried to reassure him.

"You'll do just fine, don't worry. I'll get Espio and be back in no time." His words appeared to help as Charmy switched places with Shadow. He then pulled out his Chaos Emerald and teleported to where Espio lay. The helicopter would be upon them both at any second, so Shadow took this chance to end the threat for good. Instead of Chaos Controlling with Espio, he charged up a Chaos Spear and threw it at the unsuspecting chopper. It was too quick for the pilot to dodge and the entire thing lit up on contact. Shadow then grabbed Espio in his arms and Chaos Controlled just as the helicopter crash landed where he was once stood. The hedgehog was sat on the back of the bike facing backwards with Espio still unconscious.

"Are you both okay?" Charmy asked with concern after hearing the chopper explosion.

"Don't you worry about us." He paused. "You did good, kid." A large smile was obvious on the child's face, even if he was turned around.

"R-really?! Thanks, uncle Shadow!"

"Yeah, yeah. you just keep it going for now while I see if Espio's alright." Charmy nodded enthusiastically. "I thought I told you not to fall off…" Shadow whispered.

* * *

It took a while for the chameleon to come round and it was well into the afternoon by the time he began to stir. Shadow had kept a watchful eye over him and didn't notice the time fly by.

"10 bucks says he'll ask 'what happened?' first." Charmy said once he noticed that Espio was beginning to wake up.

"You're on." Shadow replied. The ninja slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The first thing he noticed was Shadow looking down on him which led to the second thing he noticed, he was in Shadow's arms. A cheeky smirk appeared on the reptile before he spoke.

"Shut up, Charmy."

"Come on!" Charmy yelled. Shadow laughed at the unexpected cooperation and mocked the bee with a smug grin.

"You owe me 10 bucks, kid."

"But, I don't have 10 bucks." He replied hoping to get some sympathy. He got none.

"Well, you'd better cough it up from somewhere." The hedgehog turned his attention back to Espio. The chameleon spoke again.

"Where's the chopper?"

"It may or may not be in a burning heap in the middle of the desert." Shadow looked slightly guilty knowing that Espio wouldn't react well.

"Shadow…" The way he said the hedgehog's name sent a stab of guilt through his body for reasons Shadow was unsure of. "It's bad enough that I killed someone we knew, but the people on board could've had families. You may have taken away someone's father."

"It was either them or you!" Shadow snapped. "Don't I get a 'thank you' or anything?!" Now, it was Espio's turn to feel guilty.

"Sorry, Shadow. You must've risked your life to save mine. Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"It's alright. We're all alive, so I guess that counts for something." Shadow's expression softened as did Espio's. The chameleon was finally strong enough to sit back on the bike on his own, which meant Charmy had to give up the driver's seat despite the amount of fun he was having.

"I can't believe Shadow let you, a 6 year old bee, drive his bike." Espio whispered to Charmy. The child knew he was jealous, even if the chameleon wouldn't admit it.

"Oh, get over it. It saved your ass, didn't it? You should be thanking me."

"Watch your language." Espio said with a serious tone.

"But, Vector taught me it." Charmy replied pitifully. Espio got caught up by the croc's name and it took him a few seconds before he refocused.

"Well, he's a bad crocodile." He looked to the sand as he said it which Charmy easily noticed.

"We'll find him, right?" The small bee asked.

"If luck is on our side…" Espio answered weakly. Charmy saddened at Espio's lack of confidence and even Shadow did, much to his own surprise. All three of them remained quiet until Shadow spotted the mountain range on the horizon. The sight was spectacular.

The sand connected to the bases of each mountain like a glove while the peaks reached so far into the clouds, that they couldn't be seen. The backdrop was a perfect blue sky, which seemed to make the mountains even more impressive. The terrain however, was going to be impossible to pass on bike which meant they had to go on foot, much to the dismay of Charmy who now had to carry everything since he was the only one with a backpack.

"Good idea bringing that honey, Charmy. It certainly saved us some effort." Shadow mocked. The bee however, was very quiet and irritated. He stayed behind the other two so that he could be by himself.

"Why did we come this far out?" Espio questioned.

"As soon as the authorities figured out what was going on, the whole city would've been alerted whether it was by TV, radio or whatever, which means that we can't stay at my place or yours. I thought we could make some sort of basecamp out here where it's hard to find and then sneak back in when we we're ready." Espio thought hard about Shadow's plan and of course, found some flaws.

"It took us all day to get here. By the time we get back, it'll be dawn not to mention that G.U.N. probably has the entire desert under surveillance now that you downed one of their choppers."

"Would you relax? I can Chaos Control us back into the city." Shadow's voice sounded relaxed and even his expression was strong, but Espio couldn't help but point out every little hole in Shadow's idea.

"How come you didn't Chaos Control us out here in the first place?" Shadow sighed at Espio's nit-picking, but for some reason wanted to prove to him that he was reliable.

"In all honesty, I've never been out here before. I can only Chaos Control to places that I've been to." Espio looked surprised and then a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I didn't know that. Uh… sorry."

"For what? Maybe I could teach you more about them sometime. It would be something to pass the time while we're out here."

"I'd like that." Espio replied with a small smile. Shadow grinned in return before looking forwards. Charmy kept glancing back and forth between the two with an odd look.

The environment around them was peaceful, yet cold. Each step into the mountains seemed to make the temperature drop that little bit more. Espio said nothing, but Shadow knew from the incident in the desert that he couldn't cope with either extreme.

"Charmy, hold up. I need to get something out of your backpack." Shadow stated. The bee huffed, his breath visible thanks to the surrounding cold air. Espio was amazed by how it could go from heat wave to arctic in only a few miles and how much it could affect him.

After a few minutes, Shadow pulled out a thick, black jacket and closed the backpack. The chameleon was caught off-guard when Shadow handed the jacket to him. "Before you ask, it was for me, but you need it more than I do." The ninja didn't comment and quickly put the jacket on and zipped it up. His body snuggled within its warmth, something Shadow couldn't seem to take his eyes off of.

"It's getting dark. Where are we going?" Charmy whined, breaking the silence.

"A decent cave would make a good camp, I guess." Espio suggested. The others nodded and the first cave they found seemed appropriate to house the trio for the night.

Charmy, no matter how stubborn he could be, was the first to doze off that night. Both Shadow and Espio knew the child was exhausted, even if he tried to hide it. The ninja was lying on a makeshift snow bed he had made, but had trouble getting to sleep. He turned on his side to see Shadow leaning against the entrance keeping a look out.

"Nothing is going to come after us. You should get some rest." Espio reassured, but the hedgehog wasn't convinced.

"You don't know how persistent G.U.N. can be. Believe me, I've seen it."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you used to be an agent." The chameleon paused. "Sorry about that by the way."

"Hey, I chose to help you guys besides, I wasn't getting anywhere with them anyway."

"What do you mean?" The reptile questioned.

"I joined them to protect humanity, it's what Maria would've wanted, but I also joined because I wanted to change their ways. They act like they rule the world because they're a big security organisation. They think that they can treat anyone how they please and it sickens me. The cops are no different. They aren't law enforcers, they're dictators." Shadow's words were harsh, and while Espio had never personally seen the cops or G.U.N. in action except for today, he knew that the mammal wouldn't lie.

"Shadow… that's incredible."

"Huh?" The hedgehog was caught off-guard by Espio's words. "Really?"

"Of course! Despite all the crap this world has thrown at you, you still try to make it a better place for everyone else. You have no idea how much respect I have for you for that." A warm smile accompanied Espio's words. As much as Shadow tried to hide it, he couldn't help but smile in return. Words as kind as those were rare and even when he did hear them, they usually weren't aimed at him.

"Thanks. Get some rest Es, I'll be fine." The chameleon smiled more at his new nickname before turning over to try and sleep.

* * *

A few hours had passed and a blanket of darkness had settled upon the mountains. Shadow was still leaning against the entrance way drifting in and out of sleep, but it wasn't the cold that kept him up. His eyes had adjusted to the night and he could make out a moving figure to his left. The hedgehog gave up trying to sleep and turned to realise that it was Espio on the ground shivering in his sleep.

He knelt down next to him and shook him a little, but the truth was that the chameleon was already awake, unable to sleep from the arctic air.

"W-what's up, S-S-Shadow?" He stuttered uncontrollably.

"You are freezing your tail off." He stated dryly.

"Y-your point?" Espio asked.

"Look, you're gonna freeze to death if nothing is done. I know how to make you a bit warmer, but…" He paused as a blush appeared on his cheeks. Thankfully, it was too dark for Espio to notice.

"Whatever it i-is Shadow, then j-just do it." Despite the reptilian's words, Shadow was still a little nervous.

"Well, the cold doesn't affect me as much as it does you, so I was thinking that maybe I could use what little body heat I have to keep you from dying in your sleep…" His blush suddenly took over his face to the point where the hedgehog thought that the heat wave had returned. This was something that the mammal had never done before, but it was the 'do or die' situation that gave him the confidence to bring it up in the first place. "…as long as you don't get any funny ideas." Shadow finished.

"Believe m-me hedgehog, I'm more f-focused on staying alive."

"Good. Keep it that way." The hedgehog's sudden harsh tone was something that confused the chameleon.

"_You've been like a completely different hedgehog up until now. What changed?"_ Espio thought. He soon forgot about it once Shadow had wrapped his arms around him. Despite the hedgehog's warning, something in Espio's head was daring him to think of this gesture as something more. His fur felt warm up against his scales and what Shadow didn't know was that he was breathing on the back of his neck. Each breath sent a sensation up his spine, which by some miracle, was covered up by his violent shaking. The ninja sighed heavily.

"Crap." The ninja whispered realising that his thoughts on the hedgehog holding him, we're of something more than just a friend.


	5. The Bigger Picture

**Yep, even to my own surprise, I managed to get this one all written-up in just a few days. I honestly thought this would take longer, since these past few days have been a mess.**

**Long story short, my sister used to own a Bull snake, but was forced to give him up a few years ago. I found him and bought him back just a few days ago. He's now in his new terrarium, sleeping in the corner. His name is Zeus. :) I need to keep him away from Sage though. Zeus is about 6ft long, so he's not exactly small.**

**Anyway, that was the big event that happened to me, but I'm glad I was able to get this done!**

**I hope you all enjoy and as always, I will see you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

The next morning wasn't any warmer and it didn't take much for the chameleon to wake up. His memories of the night before were hazy to begin with, but after a few seconds, he remembered Shadow's 'somewhat kindness'. He turned over to see that Shadow was already up and crouching down by the entrance of the cave.

"Shadow?" The reptile tried to whisper, but instead it came out wheezy from still being tired.

"There are choppers, lots of them." Shadow informed him. Espio had to get up and look for himself, but sure enough, the hedgehog was being truthful once again.

"Damn, we're sitting ducks until they leave. How do they even know we're here?" The ninja questioned.

"My best guess would be thermal cameras, but like I said before, they're persistent."

"So, what do we do?" Espio hoped Shadow would have some miracle answer, but all he got was a shrug of the shoulders. Suddenly, the sound of boots in the snow caught the attention of both of them.

"Wake Charmy up, we're getting out of here." Shadow ordered and Espio obeyed without having time to think. He shook the bee to wake him, but the cold had made him dazed and confused.

"I don't… wanna go to school." The child grumbled. Espio had the strangest expression on his face, but the concerned hedgehog snapped him out of it.

"We don't have time, chameleon!" The mammal growled under his breath. Espio put on the backpack and picked up Charmy before heading back over to Shadow. Without saying a word, the hedgehog grabbed his arm and lifted his emerald in the air.

"Chaos Control!" He yelled, which alerted anyone who was nearby to their presence, but any soldiers who stumbled upon the cave now would only find the footprints of the trio who were there only a second ago.

* * *

Shadow didn't really want to come here unless it was an absolute last resort, but since it was either be shot in a cave or teleport somewhere safe, he assumed that was enough of a reason. The chameleon next to him opened his eyes after a few moments and gasped at the outstanding view. He was sure his eyes were betraying him as he looked out of a large window to see the planet below them. His bottom jaw hung, which Shadow found a little amusing.

"This is the ARK. My old home." Shadow told them despite Charmy still being out of it.

"I've heard many stories about this place." Espio began. "Why didn't you bring us here before?"

"You love to ask questions, don't you?" Shadow pointed out and got an odd look in return. "I just have some bad memories here… let's leave it at that." The chameleon nodded and turned his attention back to Charmy who had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Anywhere I can put this little guy?" Espio asked with a smile. The hedgehog huffed a little, he knew the sight was cute, but would never admit it.

"I might as well show you around. Luckily, I remember this place like the back of my hand." Shadow gestured for Espio to follow. "People lived up here as they did their research, so there are rooms where you guys can rest." They both went down a long corridor with the sleeping quarters being at the end. "I won't show you everywhere since this place is huge. For now, I'll just show you the bedrooms and the escape pods just in case, for whatever reason, I can't take us back down." The ninja agreed as they went into a room where Charmy could sleep. Espio carefully put him down on the single bed and put the backpack and jacket on the floor while Shadow watched intently by the door. They both left as quietly as they could with the floors being metal and headed to where the escape pods were.

"Aren't these things dangerous?" The chameleon asked. Shadow shrugged.

"I've been in one and made it out, but then again, Sonic was in one once and it blew up." Espio's face was the picture of uncertainty at Shadow's last comment. The chameleon watched as Shadow showed him what buttons to press to get the pods to launch.

"I'm really loving the sound of this, hedgehog." His voice flooded with sarcasm which Shadow simply rolled his eyes at before walking back to the observation deck.

"_Something's not right here. What is wrong with him?"_ Espio's mind wouldn't silence and questions regarding the hedgehog became relentless. He couldn't just pretend anymore and as much as he wanted to 'keep the peace', the ninja wanted answers more.

The deck was silent with only Shadow stood at the window with his arms folded. The chameleon stood in the doorway for a minute, wondering what was running through the mammal's mind. With a deep breath, he approached him.

"Shadow, is everything okay?" The hedgehog knew the ninja was genuinely concerned, but tried his best to not let it get to him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" His voice was low and gruff. Anyone else would think that he was 'just being Shadow', but Espio could read him deeper. He knew him better than that.

"That's a lie, hedgehog. Something is bothering you." Espio's voice was deep and calm. The mammal wasn't surprised by Espio's boldness, he almost envied it.

"So? Why do you care?" The chameleon almost felt insulted by his words. Had everything up until now meant nothing?

"Are you blind? You saved our lives, Shadow. More specifically you saved mine on multiple occasions. The very least I can do is lend an ear if you need to get something out of your head."

"It's complicated." Shadow finally said after some silence.

"I bet it's simpler than you think." This seemed to spark something. Shadow suddenly turned, his expression read 'anger', which caught the ninja off-guard.

"Look, what is it you want, chameleon? My life story?!" The hedgehog's voice was suddenly cold and harsh. Espio's calm demeanour kept him focused, but deep down, Shadow's sudden outburst was hurting him and his voice showed it.

"I want you to be honest with me. Why have you been acting so weird? You were fine up until that one night in the cave."

"I thought I told you not to get any funny ideas about that!"

"Well, you know what? I couldn't help it, okay!" Espio's patience had finally snapped. "I had never felt safer in my entire life than when I was in your arms! Ever since then…" Espio calmed and his voice began to tremble. "… I haven't been able to get you off my mind." Shadow was stunned, but the reptile hadn't finished yet as another wave of frustration came over him. "Now, you look me dead in the eyes, hedgehog! You look me dead in the eyes and tell me that what you did was simply for survival!" Shadow looked up from the ground and glared at Espio dead in the eyes just like he asked. His voice went from an irritated yell to a deadly growl in a matter of seconds.

"What I did for you that night was simply for survival." The hedgehog's words undoubtedly hurt. Espio simply couldn't look at him anymore. He focused on the floor and closed his eyes as tight as he could to fight back his oncoming emotions. Shadow let out a very deep breath as Espio turned away from him.

"_This is not what you deserve."_

"…Until I held you in my arms." Shadow finished. Espio turned back and stared at Shadow in a state of shock. Now it was the mammal's turn to look away.

"Sh-Shadow?" Espio stuttered, still not believing what he had just heard.

"Don't let it go to your head. I'm not going through that again."

"Wait, what?!" Espio questioned in disbelief.

"The last time I gave a shit about someone she was taken from me." Shadow's growl returned.

"Maria." Espio whispered. This struck a nerve as the hedgehog suddenly turned back around and slammed Espio against the window by his neck.

"Don't you ever speak her name!" He screamed in his face. Espio trembled within his grasp, but held his own.

"I'm not her, Shadow." The hedgehog kept his glare on the chameleon, but his grip loosened. Much to the ninja's surprise, Shadow backed away. His body was visibly shaking as was his breathing. Was he scared?

"No… that doesn't matter." His voice was almost a whisper now. "I will not be hurt again." Espio tried his best to convince him otherwise.

"Shadow, I wouldn't hurt you…"

"Can you live forever Espio?!" The reptile shook his head as an answer. "Then I would have to watch you die to."

"So, that's it…" Espio's voice was also a lot quieter. "…You're scared of losing me and going through that hell all over again."

"But I won't if I don't care." Espio stared straight into Shadow's crimson eyes and the hedgehog stared back.

"Do you care about me Shadow?"

"I don't want to-" Shadow yelled.

"Do you care?!" Espio repeated instantly.

"Of course I fucking care!" They both froze. Time seemed to stop around them. "But I'll get over it." A stab of pain tore through Espio's chest. It was as if his words were bullets and none of them missed. He just wanted to fall to his knees and break down at that moment, but he didn't want to seem weak.

"Fine…" Espio whispered. "…But you won't be able to if you're around me."

"Huh?" Confusion ran through Shadow's mind.

"If you really want to just 'get over it'. then I can't be around you." The hedgehog could tell that Espio was struggling to say those words, but he forced himself to push it aside.

"Alright… then you'd better go." Shadow's voice was still quiet and low. Espio turned and headed for the door, but stopped just before he left the room.

"Goodbye, Shadow." He whispered loud enough for the hedgehog to hear. The chameleon then left the room to get Charmy. To his surprise however, the young bee was stood outside. He had heard everything.

"What the hell was that?" Charmy asked. Espio was in too much of a state to lie and explained everything that had happened.

"So, now we're going back down to find Vector ourselves." Espio finished. Charmy couldn't believe it. The child used to admire Shadow, but his sudden change of character on top of him hurting Espio caused a deadly hatred to bubble in his gut.

"That asshole." Charmy growled ignoring the fact that he wasn't allowed to swear in front of Espio.

"Watch your language." He said as usual.

"But…" Charmy was about to argue until he took one look at Espio's face. He wasn't angry or annoyed, he looked as if he was about to give up. "Sorry, Espy." The bee smiled at an attempt to cheer up his friend. The chameleon tried to return his smile, but he simply couldn't. He knelt down so that he was level with the child.

"Charmy, this may sound weird coming from me, but… can I please have a hug?" Espio's voice stuttered. It pained the bee to see his friend this way.

"What sorta question is that? That's what I'm here for." Espio pulled the bee in close and held him tight. Charmy could feel that his breathing was shaken as if he was about to cry, but as always, Espio held back to avoid seeming weak. "He's not good enough for you." Charmy whispered receiving a slight chuckle from the reptile. "But I know someone who is." Espio pulled away with an expression of confusion.

"What are you talking about?" The ninja questioned. Charmy sighed, knowing that what he was about to tell Espio would hit hard.

"I know why Vector ran." He stated plainly. Espio looked a little angry, but his voice still remained calm and even understanding.

"Why?"

"I promised him I wouldn't say anything, but…" Charmy clearly didn't want to break his promise, but this was something the chameleon needed to hear. Espio reassured him.

"Charms, you're a good boy for keeping your promise and Vector would be very proud of you, but just know that all three of us are a family and if there is something going on, then I need to know about it. Vector would understand, I assure you." Charmy nodded and breathed heavily.

"Remember when I came into your room and asked that 'question'?" Charmy said nervously. Espio allowed a small smile; it was a pleasant memory and a tiny ray of light in the current darkness of his mind. The bee continued. "Well, before that, Vector and I were talking. He had been acting strange, so I confronted him and what he told me…" Charmy paused and took another breath. He remembered Vector telling him that he was good at getting to the point, something that came in handy during times like this. "… He told me that he had fallen for you." The unsuspecting ninja was forced to get up at this new information.

"Oh… my Chaos." He whispered to himself. Charmy stood staring; slightly afraid at what the reptile might do next. After a few tense minutes, Espio came back to reality and focused his gaze upon the bee that told him. "We have to find Vector, with or without help. No matter what." Espio seemed oddly confident, but Charmy didn't question it and his usual enthusiasm returned.

"I'm with ya all the way Espio!" The chameleon smiled at the bee before heading to the escape pods. They were pretty straight forward now that Shadow had shown him and they both stepped into the capsule before it closed. "I won't lie though, I'm scared." Charmy admitted.

"Don't worry, I'll hold your hand." Espio joked, but to his surprise Charmy really did hold his hand and snuggled into his arm. He used his one free hand to pat the bee on the head as a form of comfort. A new feeling came over the chameleon, a feeling of responsibility that he had never felt around the bee before. "Nothing can hurt you while I'm here." Espio whispered. Charmy's grip on him tightened as the pod was released.

* * *

The 'boom' as the pod was launched echoed throughout the ARK. Shadow was still stood on the observation deck staring mindlessly out of the window. His gaze was set upon the planet until the pod caught his eye.

"_It's for the best."_ The hedgehog kept telling himself, but as the pod drifted further away, he couldn't look anymore.

"Goodbye, Espio." Was all he said before walking away.


	6. Throw It All Away

**Ready for another dark turn? I certainly am! This chapter is a lot longer. You'll see why. :)**

**Not much has happened, so all I can do now is let you get straight to the chapter.**

**See you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

Each passing day felt like an endless abyss. Shadow would wake up and question everything. He would wander around the ARK and still question everything. Every waking moment was spent trying to dig through the many thoughts of Espio in his head and every time he got to the bottom, only one question would remain.

"_Why are you still on my mind?"_ It was that one question that would wind Shadow up the most. He knew the chameleon had left his mark on his mind and he couldn't control it. Several punches of frustration into a wall would temporarily calm him, until it came up again, and it always came up again. The mammal grew into this cycle which lasted for months until one day, whilst again looking out of the observation deck window; he decided that he had had enough.

"Damn you, Espio!" He yelled. "Get out of my head!" His breathing suddenly began to shake as he fell to his hands and knees. "I don't understand… why… I don't want to feel this way anymore." The lack of sleep combined with his constant questioning had certainly taken its toll. A few deep breaths later and Shadow stood back up. He looked to the stars this time, his mind forcing him to see the reptilian's face among them. The hedgehog's eyes looked to Espio's imaginary ones and his mind began to calm. Something about the chameleon gave him certainty, he gave him a purpose. He eventually got the courage to look beside him, but unfortunately, Espio wasn't there.

"Espio…" His voice whispered to the empty space next to him, almost hoping for an answer. "Damn you, chameleon." When he didn't get one. "You're gone because of me, I know that. I just…" Shadow paused as he felt himself welling up for the first time. "…Didn't expect to miss you this much." His fear and pain began to wash away with the tears that made their way down his cheeks. He could finally admit what he couldn't just a few months ago. "I shouldn't have let you go and now I'm paying the price. You deserve so much better and dammit I can give you better." His gaze travelled back to the planet; its blue aura hiding the only person in the world that he truly cared for. "If I'm not too late." The black hedgehog tossed aside any doubts that he had and held the Chaos Emerald in his hand. "I'm coming, Espio." He told himself before disappearing from the ARK.

* * *

In a split second, the Ultimate Lifeform went from space to his home. The bright sunlight was shining through the window however, everything was silent.

"Espio?" The hedgehog called out, but no response. He checked the entirety of the house, but no sign of Espio or Charmy was present. He then thought about anywhere else they may be. The Chaotix HQ was the first to come to his mind, so he instantly Chaos Controlled.

* * *

The creaky wooden shack wielded no results. He checked every room and called out both their names, yet no sign of life was found. Nowhere else came to mind until he thought back to G.U.N.

"_What if they captured him?"_ Shadow thought. A wave of anger flooded his mind as he thought of the worst and Chaos Controlled again to G.U.N., regardless of the possibility that he himself may be captured.

* * *

A terrifying sight greeted the eyes of the hedgehog once he had gathered his surroundings. He had landed in the main control room. Every screen was off and not a soul was anywhere around.

"What the fuck?" He whispered. It was obvious that something was wrong, but he didn't have the faintest clue as to what it could possibly be. He went on one of the laptops on the off-chance that it was working. Luck was with the hedgehog today as the laptop came on and lit up the entire room. "If there has been some sort of evacuation, then G.U.N. will know about it." Shadow told himself as he searched through files.

Each document he looked through seemed to have two things that were consistent. The first being about the heat wave and the effects it was having on everything, and the second was how plant life had mutated because of the continuous heat. He read on to see that many people were becoming very ill because of this new species. Information further down the page didn't make Shadow feel any better. As it turned out, the plants continued to mutate at an alarming rate and were now producing a fungi that didn't make people ill, but completely took over them instead.

"As of now, only humans seem to be directly affected by the fungi with other creatures being immune. If however, someone was to be injured in some way by an infected human then they also would be taken over by the fungi." Shadow read. His mouth gaped at the reality of the situation.

"How ironic. The humans that once ruled over us are now going to be at the mercy of a bullet to a head." He chuckled, he had always told himself that the humans were weak, but he had no idea that the entire race would fall in a few months. Many thoughts went through his head.

"_Can I get infected?" _and _"Where is everyone else?"_ Were just a few, but then one thought in particular sent Shadow into a panic. _"Is Espio still alive?"_

He thought fast and wondered if one of G.U.N.'s secret weapons was still in the base. Without hesitation, he went to the vault and unlocked it with no problems. Sat at the far end was something that would be invaluable in his search; E-123 Omega. A control panel was located on his back, which allowed Shadow to activate him. After pressing a few buttons, the hedgehog's robotic friend came back to life and stood up. He stood in front of Omega, who scanned him to make sure he knew who he was.

"Shadow." He said in his usual monotone voice.

"It's good to see you, Omega." Shadow began. "The whole planet has gone to shit and I need your help to find… someone." The mammal didn't want to say who it was and quickly moved on. "Can you help me?"

"Affirmative." Omega answered. Shadow felt better and wanted to make sure that Omega was ready.

"You're going to need your guns, Omega. How much ammo do you have?"

"Ammunition is at full capacity." Shadow grinned again.

"That's what I like to hear. Just use it wisely, who knows if we'll ever get any more." Shadow informed him as they walked to the armoury. Of course, Shadow's weapon of choice would be the shotgun, with two handguns on his waist in case any were at a distance. Once the hedgehog felt comfortable enough with his new 'toys', they both went to the main exit to see that the door wouldn't open.

"I'll have to kick it down, which is going to attract some attention. You ready?" The mammal asked.

"Affirmative." The robot said again as he loaded the guns on each arm.

"Then let's go." In one swift kick, the door was open and just as predicted; infected came charging out of nowhere. Shadow readied his shotgun and blasted one clean in the skull whilst Omega mowed down others that were further away. Thankfully, there were only a few dozen and they were dispatched in a couple of minutes. Shadow walked up to one of the bodies and laughed.

"You know what the funny part about this is? I can kill anyone I like and Espio can't call me out on it."

"Who is Espio?" Omega questioned, not remembering who he was.

"You know; the chameleon?" Shadow looked surprised.

"Espio the Chameleon." Omega repeated. Chills went up the hedgehog's spine at the mention of his name and Omega noticed Shadow's sudden body language. "Is he the one you are looking for?" The robot asked. Shadow went red and turned away, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, uh… I need to find him." His voice was quieter than normal, which Omega also picked up on. He wasn't stupid; he could tell that something had happened between the two since he had never seen Shadow react this way before.

"Something happened. What was it?" The hedgehog sighed knowing he would ask that eventually.

"Let's walk and talk, it's a long story."

Shadow explained everything from Rouge's murder and G.U.N., to the night in the mountains and their time on the ARK. Of course, Omega didn't react being a robot, but he did listen and in many ways, that was all Shadow wanted. They had to stop from time to time because they ran into more infected. Shadow dispatched them silently to avoid attracting more. Omega observed Shadow very carefully as he told him of the events between him and Espio. The hedgehog seemed immediately happier. He would always describe what Espio was doing or what his face expression was when something happened. It seemed to ease the mammal whenever Espio entered his mind and he always smiled when the reptilian's name passed through his lips.

"You really like him, don't you?" Omega asked catching the Ultimate Lifeform off-guard. He paused and thought about it.

"Yeah, Omega… I really do." Shadow admitted. "I just wish I wasn't afraid."

"We will find him." It didn't matter how monotone Omega's voice was, the words made Shadow feel better. The hedgehog knew that the only reason he was afraid now was because the ninja wasn't around.

"But, what if he found Vector? I heard them talking in the corridor and Vector liked him to, that's why he ran off in the first place." Shadow was getting a little paranoid.

"But, what if he didn't? Do not jump to conclusions until you have seen them for yourself." Omega had a good point. Shadow had no idea of Espio's fate, whether he was alive or not or whether he was with others or alone.

"Yeah… okay." Shadow calmed himself, realising that he shouldn't waste his energy on things that he didn't know were true. They remained on the outskirts where there were less infected and in a few hours, they had already made it to the desert.

"Now what?" Omega asked. Shadow scratched the back of his head trying to think.

"He's smart, he knows that there would be too many infected in the city, which means he would get as far away from the populated areas as possible. The problem is… he could literally be anywhere." The black hedgehog sat on the sand with very little hope.

"We will find him." Omega repeated trying to up Shadow's morale.

"But… it'll take so long. He is a ninja somewhere on this planet and I am a hedgehog trying to find him. I'll probably be killed by then or I'll find him dead." He looked out onto the horizon. The desert was vast and empty with the odd dust devil being blown about by a warm, gentle breeze. "Omega, all we can do for now is survive. We can take shelter at my house until I either think of something better or fate hands us something worth chasing after." The robot didn't argue and followed the disheartened hedgehog back to his house as the sun began to set.

* * *

Windows were broken and any furniture that hadn't been stolen was in a state of disrepair. Shadow spent the next few weeks simply lying on the couch. He was truly depressed with no more strength to worry about Espio. Every night was filled with nightmares of the ninja's fate.

He would be alone in the city and hundreds of infected would come out of nowhere. Espio would be in the middle of them while Shadow would be on the outside trying to fend them off. All he would hear was Espio's blood-curdling screams as he was eaten alive. The horde would then magically disappear leaving Shadow traumatised and Espio's corpse in a bloody heap on the ground.

Omega was always stood watching him, neither would say a word. One or two infected would pass by the house every now and then with no idea that the duo were inside, but Shadow didn't care. His thoughts would occasionally travel to the darker parts of his mind. The parts where he could end the pain himself for good and know that Espio would join him in the realm of peace someday if he wasn't there already.

One night, the nightmares got too much and Shadow woke up screaming. He was crying and gripping his head hoping somehow that these midnight tortures would end. His cries were so loud that they echoed through the empty streets and attracted a horde. Omega dealt with them fairly quickly using his dual machine guns. After the attack, Shadow wasn't on the couch anymore. Omega made his way upstairs and found Shadow in a room with white walls and a red ceiling; Espio's room. He was shaking violently with a waterfall of tears streaming from both of his bloodshot eyes. The robot pat the panicking hedgehog on the shoulder as best he could.

"Go ahead and laugh! I dare you! I'm weak and this is exactly what I deserve!" He yelled at Omega.

"I will not laugh. You are in a lot of pain because you feel bad about how you treated him and now you miss him. It is okay, Shadow."

"…Thank you, Omega." The mammal stuttered through his tears. Omega stayed by his side until he eventually cried himself to sleep. The robot then went into standby mode to save power until the next day.

* * *

Shadow awoke sometime in the afternoon. His eyes stung to begin with, but they then focused on Omega who was holding something in his hand

"Is… that?" Shadow's voice was a bit more gruff than usual, most likely from crying so much.

"It is." Omega replied as he handed one of Espio's shuriken stars to Shadow. He stared in disbelief for a minute before picking it up and holding it close to his chest. A few solitary tears escaped him. "I found it under the bed." Omega explained.

"It's all I have of him now." Shadow whispered. He then got up and began searching the house. Omega was unsure what he was looking for, but didn't question him either. The black hedgehog looked through drawers and closets until he found what was desired. The object in question was some string. He looped it through the hole in the middle of the star and tied the ends together. He then put the string over his head so that he was now wearing the shuriken star around his neck. Omega came downstairs and stared at Shadow. "You like it?" He asked.

"Affirmative." Omega answered. Shadow allowed himself to smile for the first time in about a month as he looked at his new necklace.

"I'll be alright, Omega." The hedgehog started. "I guess there was a lot more pain in me than I thought that needed to be let out." Omega nodded, but didn't say anything. He actually didn't believe the hedgehog's words at first, but as time passed, Shadow began to get used to his new situation. He would still break down on occasion, but they got rarer. Every day, Shadow and Omega would do a quick scout of the city looking for food, supplies or any sign of life whether it was the ninja or not. Food wasn't the biggest deal since neither of them needed it to live, but Shadow liked to taste something different to liven up the days.

The leftovers found from around the outskirts lasted a lot longer than Shadow had originally thought, but they had to run out eventually and the daily trips didn't wield anything new. They both agreed they wouldn't go into the city centre under any circumstances as being overrun was certain and Shadow wasn't sure if he could get infected or not.

With the days now getting dull, Shadow came up with an odd idea for entertainment. They would gather pebbles and rocks before going to the top of one of the skyscrapers. They would then throw the collected rocks off of the building and compete with each other to see who could hit the most infected. Omega usually won since he loaded the smaller pebbles into his arm and fired them at infected with pin point accuracy.

"Bloody cheater." He groaned in annoyance.

"Ha-ha." Omega would say to try and wind him up, but Shadow would just chuckle.

* * *

_**10 Years Later...**_

* * *

The city was in complete ruin. Vegetation had grown to the very top of every building to the point where some of the tallest had collapsed from the weight. It was a no man's land now. If falling debris didn't kill you, then the infected would. It had gotten far too dangerous to stay in so the pair followed a long straight road out of the city. They eventually came across an old, abandoned gas station. There was evidence that someone had stayed in it, but they had left long ago. It had been 16 months since they first found this place and they were well settled in. It may have been in the middle of nowhere, but that was more of a blessing. They could see all around and it was very peaceful… for now. The counter was Shadow's bed while Omega stayed stood in a corner in standby mode.

Long into the night, the stars were shining and the sands were still. The once gentle breeze of the desert had now disappeared and one could easily be fooled into thinking that the world was just fine. Shadow was restless and ended up sleeping on the floor thanks to him falling off the counter twice. Something however, disturbed his sleep. He rubbed his eyes, yawned and stretched before looking around. Nothing was moving and Omega was stood in his usual spot. The hedgehog then listened. Something was echoing in the distance, a kind of popping sound, but he couldn't be sure.

"Omega." He whispered and the robot became active. "Can you hear something?" The robot was silent as he listened.

"I hear something." He confirmed.

"Good, so it's not just me. Let's get onto the roof and check if anything is out there." They both did just that. Shadow had to squint his eyes to try and get a better look, but he couldn't see anything except the darkness. Omega however, had a very handy zoom feature along with night vision. He scanned the horizon carefully for any changes. "Well, what do you see?" Shadow was getting impatient.

"There are flashes of light in the distance and a lot of infected moving east." Omega told him. Shadow was baffled for a good five minutes and almost considered ignoring it and getting back to sleep until he thought about it more.

"_Popping and flashes of light…attracting infected…"_ Shadow was suddenly very alert and ran back inside to get his weapons. He came back out and explained everything.

"Omega, those are gunshots which means someone is alive out there. We have to help them, I don't care how big the horde is, got it?" Shadow ordered.

"Understood." Omega replied as they both sped off towards the ocean of infected. As they got closer, Shadow began to yell which attracted the horde's attention. They all came charging and Shadow was certain that this was a suicide mission until the horde stopped and turned around.

"Hey! Over here!" Shadow yelled, but it was as if they had all gone deaf. The mammal listened and could hear a very distinct beeping. "What is that?"

"Shadow, explosive detected!" Omega warned, but before they could even take a step, the bomb went off. Any infected nearby were either blown away or blown to pieces while anyone who was living would have taken a heavy hit. Omega took the blast well as he was only sent backwards a few feet; Shadow however was lying in the sand motionless. The robot went over to see if he was okay and after a few nudges in his side, the mammal came round.

He struggled to stand as his entire body ached. His vision was blurred and a constant ringing was in his ears.

"Ugh…" Shadow groaned.

"Are you okay?" Omega asked as he helped the dazed hedgehog to his feet.

"I'm fine." The mammal answered as he shook himself awake. The effects wore off quickly which gave Shadow the chance to study his surroundings. Bodies of infected lay everywhere as well as limbs that couldn't stay attached. Shadow picked up an arm and proceeded to poke Omega with it. The robot simply stared at Shadow and his unusual playfulness. "What?" The hedgehog asked seeing nothing wrong with what he was doing.

"That bomb had more of an effect on you than I thought." Omega stated.

"Shut up." The hedgehog responded, clearly not amused. He tossed the arm aside and moved closer to the large, blackened area where the bomb used to be. A groaning could be heard which both Omega and Shadow assumed was one of the infected that survived. They split up to check each body. Shadow had his shotgun good to go in case one of them got up. They were all certainly dead until the hedgehog came to the one that was groaning. He aimed his shotgun at the head until he noticed something. The body wasn't groaning, it was mumbling something. Despite the risk of potentially being bitten, Shadow knelt down next to it and listened.

"Dad… dad… dad…" It kept saying over and over.

"Omega, someone's alive over here." Shadow informed him and the robot came over.

"Who is it?" He asked. Shadow shrugged, but then turned the body over carefully. The mammal's bottom jaw dropped at the sight of an orange, blood-stained jacket and a black helmet with a shuriken star carved into the back.

"It's Charmy." Shadow stuttered.


	7. Bonds Are Never Broken

**I'm back again! My life seems to have been taken over by this story. I'm not complaining since it's a lot of fun!**

**I would like to take this moment to thank mormar1 for all the reviews and support! It has been a real boost and it has helped me get these chapters done quicker. Thank you! :)**

**Anyway, I won't hold you up anymore. Let's get to the chapter!**

**See you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

The darkness that night seemed to last longer. The pair had gotten so used to nothing happening that it was almost dangerous. Omega was on the roof keeping a lookout for anyone else who may pass by. Shadow meanwhile, had brought Charmy inside and allowed him to rest on the counter. It amazed the hedgehog how no one else was around; he thought surely the bee would've been in a group. He had been stood at his side all night and made sure he didn't sleep until he knew for certain that Charmy was okay. The bee eventually began to stir. He was a little confused as he looked around, but the second his eyes landed on Shadow, his expression was filled with hate.

"You." He growled in his now much deeper voice. The hedgehog wanted to pretend that he didn't know why the bee was so angry, but he knew all too well that he deserved it.

"Didn't expect to see me, huh?" His voice was calm to avoid getting into an unnecessary argument.

"More like 'didn't _want_ to see you'." A concrete glare was locked onto Shadow, which normally wouldn't have made the hedgehog flinch, but Charmy wasn't a 6 year old child anymore. He was a teenager who had grown up in an apocalypse. He was dangerous, knew how to kill and had a deadly hatred for Shadow. "I remember everything from that day and I will never forgive you for what you did to Espio."

"I know you hate my guts, but I saved your life. Don't I get a 'thank you' or anything?!" A sense of déjà vu came over the hedgehog as he remembered saying those words before.

"Why?! We both know you only saved me so that you would look good in Espio's eyes!"

"That is bullshit and you know it!" Shadow yelled. "Did it ever occur to you that I saved you because you might actually mean something to me?" Charmy sighed heavily before lying back down.

"Whatever." Charmy finished. Guilt flooded Shadow's conscious, he felt so bad about Espio that he didn't even think about the effect it had on Charmy.

"I'm sorry."

"That doesn't change anything." He replied, his voice now calmer.

"I know… but I am. Goodnight Charms." Shadow knew he wouldn't get a response and tried to get comfortable back on the floor. He glanced back up at the bee to see that he was shivering. The hedgehog got back up and gave him the small blanket. "Sleep tight." Charmy was a little confused at first, but snuggled into it anyway to try and warm up. Not even an hour later and Omega came in to wake Shadow up.

"Infected are moving in." Omega told him. Shadow nodded and shook himself awake.

"Charms, we've got infected outside." Shadow nudged him until he grunted, indicating that he was awake. "Omega, how many?"

"I count ten, but there may be more at the back door." Omega informed them.

"We can't just go out and take on all of them, we'll be overrun." Shadow searched his mind until Charmy interrupted.

"Omega, you can't get infected, right? Go out the back door and make noise. That will distract them enough for me and Shadow to go out the front and take them out from a distance." Omega looked to Shadow before he did anything. The hedgehog was impressed.

"That's… a pretty good idea. Go on, Omega." Shadow then turned his attention to Charmy. "You ready?" A psychotic grin appeared on his face as he pulled out two pistols from his jacket, one of them had a knife attached to the top of it.

"Always." He chuckled. As soon as the infected had moved far enough around back, Charmy and Shadow went out the front door and moved around the side to kill the infected from behind. To Shadow's surprise, Charmy was an excellent shot. Not a single bullet missed and all of them were headshots.

"I underestimated you." Shadow admitted. Charmy didn't say anything, only grinned. The hedgehog rolled his eyes and went to meet up with Omega. "You alright?" He asked once he had caught up with him.

"Affirmative. No damage taken." Omega replied. They both returned to Charmy who was now leaning against the wall.

"That's a nice pistol you've got there." Shadow commented, trying to start a conversation.

"I'm surprised, Shadow. Don't you have one?"

"Just a couple of pistols. I don't have a knife at all, never mind what you've got there." Shadow didn't see anything wrong with not having a blade, but Charmy was quick to explain his error.

"You don't have a knife? What if an infected jumps on you? You need something handy that will kill. You'd have one arm holding it back by its neck so that it can't bite and then with your free hand you pull out a knife and get in the head. This is common sense, Shadow." Charmy was clearly experienced, especially if he could modify guns all on his own.

"I have pistols for that."

"What if you have no ammo?" The bee pointed out.

"I have Chaos powers." Shadow argued.

"And if you have no emerald?" No matter what Shadow said, Charmy pointed out the flaw. The hedgehog smiled realising that he had someone to argue this stuff out with, not that Omega wasn't a good companion. "What're ya smiling for?" Charmy questioned.

"I just never thought I'd ever have a conversation like this with you. It's just nice to talk to someone, no offence to Omega." The teen was surprised by how much Shadow was opening up, but he still wasn't convinced. "Can I ask you something?" The bee nodded.

"When I found you, you were mumbling 'dad' over and over again. Did you find your father or something?" Shadow asked clearly curious. Charmy cringed, not expecting the mammal to bring the topic up.

"Uh… my parents and sister were killed by Eggman when I was a kid." He replied shyly. Shadow looked away and scratched his head.

"Crap, Charms. I'm-I'm sorry." The hedgehog stuttered. Charmy shifted trying to shrug it off.

"You didn't know, so I can let you off for that one." He then sat down and wrapped his arms round his knees. The hedgehog could tell that something was bothering him.

"Hey Omega, maybe you could do a quick scout or even search those bodies to see if they have anything useful. I need to talk to him alone, if that's alright?" Omega moved his head in a nodding motion before walking away. Shadow turned back towards Charmy and sat next to him. "So, who were you referring to?" Shadow continued as if he didn't already know.

"I thought that was obvious. You are wearing one of his shuriken stars after all." Charmy chuckled. "I was referring to Espio." Shadow nodded.

"So, you did notice." The hedgehog smiled, but then his expression became serious. "Charmy, you can talk to me you know. All hatred aside, if there's something on your mind, then I'll listen." The bee was caught even more off-guard this time.

"Well..." It took him a minute, but he decided to trust Shadow this once to see if he meant it. "How do you survive?" Charmy asked. The hedgehog gave a weird look. The fact that the bee was sat next to him shows that he had survived well. So, why was he asking?

"I don't understand." Shadow said plainly, the teen sighed.

"Like, how do you stay strong? Doesn't the fact that every day is a struggle weigh on you?"

"Honestly, it doesn't. If anything, I quite like the world like this. No more needless societal ills, no more people in power who can't control it. The idea of 'peace' is something that will never exist, but for me at least, this is the closest we'll ever be." Shadow allowed a small smile and looked up to the sky. "We are free, Charmy."

"You might be…" The insect began. "…but I'm not." Shadow looked at him; his face read 'concern'. "You're lucky. You don't have anyone to depend upon you. You don't have to worry about starving to death. You can just be who you like and do what you like without having anyone to judge you." A heavy sigh escaped the teen.

"Tell me, how have you been?" It was simple question, but Charmy looked amazed by it.

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do. Why?" Shadow asked a little shocked. Charmy looked back to the ground and his voice got a lot quieter.

"It's just… no one has ever asked me that."

"Are you serious?" Shadow felt a little angry. It sounded as if whoever else he was with didn't truly care about the youngster.

"Yeah, it's all about survival. They just tell me to not fuck up, but I know I will at some point, I'm just a bee, and when that time comes they'll all come down on me like a ton of bricks."

"Even Espio?"

"Especially Espio." Charmy told him. "He hasn't been the same since…" The bee froze and looked away, but Shadow's curiosity was in too deep to allow the teen to stop there.

"Since me?" Shadow questioned despite the long shot, but to his surprise, Charmy nodded.

"You broke him, Shadow. You broke him badly. He was depressed for so long, must've been close to a year, but he seemed to get over it until one day, we got overrun." He stared straight at Shadow. "He kept telling me to get out and leave him, but of course I didn't. He would've died if I had left and he got mad because I didn't let him do that."

"Suicide?" Shadow whispered.

"That was the idea." Charmy replied. Shadow shivered at the thought. "Ever since then, it has been me looking after him when it should be the other way around!" The bee's frustration finally burst. The hedgehog could tell that something was up; he just didn't know how close Charmy was to breaking point. "I can't take it anymore! He's not the Espio you used to know and it's gotten to the point where every night when I'm trying to sleep, I look over to him sleeping peacefully and I wish horrible things would happen to him!" Tears were falling and his body was shaking from both the anger and the chill that had accompanied the night. "It's sick I know, but I just- I can't-" Out of nowhere, Shadow pulled Charmy into a hug. He held the bee tight and he couldn't help but break down into the hedgehog's shoulder. "Uncle Shadow…" He wept. The mammal was taken by surprise so much by his old nickname, that he couldn't help but let at least a few tears escape him.

"I am so sorry, Charmy. It'll all be okay. I'm here now." He reassured. "You're still the little guy I remember on the inside, aren't you?" Shadow chuckled trying to cheer up the broken teen.

"I was forced to grow up." Charmy replied. "I created my first bomb when I was ten. Do you know what the response was from dad?"

"Don't fuck it up?" Shadow guessed.

"Basically." Charmy confirmed. "He didn't teach me either. Everything I know was me learning it on my own."

"Holy crap, Charms. That's amazing." Shadow was genuinely impressed, which seemed to make Charmy well up even more.

"That's the first bit of praise I've had in ten years." Charmy admitted. They both sat there and watched the sun rise. Its rays providing warmth for the two and providing hope for Charmy. Shadow looked to see the exhausted teen had fallen asleep. He smiled and got comfortable before dozing off himself.

* * *

The sun was high and the temperatures were rising quickly before they both woke up. Omega had stayed active to ensure no infected came out of nowhere. Shadow got up first and helped Charmy to his feet after.

"You feel better?" Shadow asked him as Charmy let out a large yawn.

"I feel rested I guess, but the problems are still there." The bee told him.

"Who were you with anyway?" Shadow questioned, realising that Charmy had never told him.

"Espio obviously, Silver, Blaze and Knuckles." Charmy answered.

"What about Vector?" Shadow asked. "I was sure you guys were looking for him as soon as you got off the ARK."

"We did, but then the fungi and the quarantine and all that shit kicked up. So, we were forced to make that a second priority." Charmy explained. "So yeah, he's not with us."

"We should get you back to Espio. I'll make things right, Charmy, so you don't have to worry anymore." The hedgehog was about to make a move, but the bee stopped him.

"Shadow, wait..." He began. "You can go and find Espio, I don't have the will or strength to stop you, but I'm not going with you." Shadow's eyes widened.

"What? Why not?" Shadow was concerned and his voice showed it.

"I just can't go back to them. They probably think I'm dead anyway-"

"Hold up." Shadow interrupted. "Was that bomb a suicide attempt?" The hedgehog looked angry, but deep down he was just worried.

"No! That was never it!" He panicked. "It was merely a way to get out of that group. I was running away. I knew I could survive the blast, it's just the horde got a little closer than I thought they would, which meant I was a little closer to the bomb than I would've liked." Shadow calmed upon hearing his explanation, but still tried to talk Charmy out of it.

"They would all be worried sick about you despite everything. Espio is your father, he raised you and kept you alive as best he could and even though I haven't seen him in over ten years, I know for a fact that he would be terrified of anything happening to you." Shadow put his hand on the teen's shoulder, but Charmy looked away.

"I can't, Shadow." The insect whispered. "If I go back now knowing what sort of life I could have outside of the group, then I'll snap and do something I'll regret. You know who that's aimed at." Shadow scratched his head trying to think of something.

"What if I do go back? Would you stay here? I can come back for you, if you want." Shadow tried to compromise, but the bee had made his decision before he knew Shadow was still around.

"If you did go, then I would leave here and survive on my own." Charmy's voice was calm and stable, which showed that he meant every word. Shadow was speechless; he didn't know what else to say and kept staring at Charmy with a saddened look.

"How would you do that? I'm not questioning your abilities; I have complete faith in you, I just mean that we're surrounded by desert. You'll die out here." Shadow argued.

"I'm not saying I'll leave forever. I just need to be away from them for a while, a few months at least. You can come with me or go to Espio; it's your choice Shadow." The hedgehog was weighing both options in his mind. His goal to begin with was to find Espio and confess everything to him, but Charmy needed him to rely on and without Espio, he would also need him to be a father figure, which Shadow was quickly warming to. But it all came down to one basic question.

"_Espio or Charmy?"_


	8. Uncertainty Dwells

**Hey guys and girls!**

**This chapter should've been done yesterday, but the past 24 hours have been absolute hell. My mind was too messed up to keep writing, so I spent the rest of the night trying to get my head together.**

**As you can see, I manage to finish it and now it's here and ready to go!**

**Enough of that, I'll let you get to it!**

**See you all again soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

They had both been silent for a few minutes. Shadow was now leaning against the wall of the gas station, while Charmy had gone across the road and sat on the sand, allowing the hedgehog to think.

"_He might as well be asking me who I care for more, and even if he did, I couldn't answer that."_ The mammal thought of any way to try and sway the bee, but he kept hitting a brick wall.

"Charms, get over here." Shadow called and the bee came over and sat next to him. "Won't Espio do something stupid without you around? You said yourself that he's dependent upon you."

"Probably, but he still has the other three to keep an eye on him. I was hoping that he would learn to not rely on me so much while I wasn't there. He could be dead already, I have no idea."

"Comforting words." Shadow said sarcastically. The teen chuckled, which caused the mammal next to him to grin. "So, what's stopping you from coming back and then leaving again once you know Espio is alright?"

"Well, Espio wouldn't let me leave and I'd feel guilty." Charmy told him. Shadow appreciated his honesty, something the hedgehog was sure he had picked up from the ninja. "You're my only escape, Shadow." The black mammal then stood up straight and took a few breaths to clear his head.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asked.

"I really want to see the city again. I know it's probably a complete hell-hole by now, but I've never seen a hell-hole before. We've been out in the wilderness, away from where all the infected would be." Charmy explained. Shadow nodded as he listened to the teen's words.

"We had better get going then." A grin appeared on his face as he said it.

"Huh?" Charmy's voice was full of confusion, but as soon as Shadow smiled back at him he knew exactly what he meant. The bee leapt up and hugged Shadow tight. The hedgehog, who was nearly tackled over, hugged back.

"It'll take a few hours unless we run, but even I know that you aren't the speedy type." Shadow thought about a quicker way until Charmy interrupted his thinking.

"On my feet, you're right, but you seem to forget that I can fly. Keeping up with you and Omega wouldn't be an issue." Charmy informed him, feeling quite smug about his abilities. Shadow glanced at the confident bee and his grin grew.

"Race you there." Shadow said before him and Omega sped off into the distance.

"Hey! No fair!" Charmy yelled as his wings flew him forward at an unbelievable rate.

* * *

Shadow was sure that he had gained a good enough distance and allowed himself to relax. He appreciated the wind in his fur; it seemed to wash his worries away and silence his thoughts. Looking right, he saw Omega only slightly behind him. Looking left he saw… Charmy?!

"How the…?" He whispered to himself. The smuggest of grins was plastered on his face, especially at the sight of Shadow in complete disbelief.

"What did I tell ya? I may be nothing special on the ground, but in the air, even the Babylon Rogues would struggle." Charmy actually had to slow down to stay at the same pace as Shadow. The mention of the rogues made Shadow wonder.

"How do you think those three are anyway?" He asked the bee.

"I think they're just fine. They live on a fucking airship after all." Charmy complained.

"Hmph, bastards. They don't have any spare rooms for guys like us?" Charmy chuckled at his question.

"Yeah, right. If they did, they wouldn't share, even if their lives depended on it." They both laughed at the image of Jet throwing a hissy fit.

"What about Amy?" Shadow asked.

"Well… no offence to her, but…" Charmy looked away, so Shadow decided to finish his sentence for him.

"You think she's dead, don't you?"

"Little bit, yeah." Charmy admitted.

"What about Cream?" Shadow continued. The bee's expression seemed to sadden. The mammal was quick to notice, but stayed quiet for now.

"As much as I hope that she's still alive, I just… don't see that happening." Shadow studied the younger bee and recognised some of his own behaviours whenever he thought about Espio.

"You really like her, don't you?" Shadow asked, mimicking Omega's question from years ago. Charmy however, got embarrassed and defensive.

"No." He said flatly, but Shadow wouldn't give up an opportunity like this.

"Yeah, you do. You like her." He teased.

"Shut up! She was a good friend to me."

"Girlfriend, you mean." Shadow laughed.

"No, Shadow!" Charmy yelled, but he secretly enjoyed being picked on. It was the first time in ten years that he had felt like a kid again.

"Girlfriend." Omega joined in.

"Omega! Come on!" Charmy pleaded. Shadow nearly tripped over from more unexpected cooperation. It reminded him of Espio, but then again, what didn't? They chatted and caught up until they noticed the city on the horizon. Charmy was hypnotised by it.

"Whoa! Check out those giant trees and stuff!" He exclaimed with excitement. They wasted no time in entering the outskirts, so the bee could get a closer look. He was staring at every building he could see for a good five minutes, but rummaging from behind caught his attention. "Uh, what are you guys doing?"

"We're collecting rocks." Shadow said without any explanation to see how he would react. "Your face is priceless by the way." Shadow finally chuckled.

"What for?" Charmy eventually spoke. Shadow proudly explained the 'throwing rocks at infected' game that they never officially named and as expected, the teen was adamant that he wanted to play to. He quickly searched the ground for a few extra rocks and followed the other two to the old building where they used to throw them all those years ago.

They had to be careful when venturing to the roof. They hadn't been there in so long that there may have been infected present. To their surprise however, they didn't find one and made it to the top with only Charmy being exhausted.

"Why… didn't you warn me… about the stairs?" He panted trying to catch his breath. Shadow smirked.

"Why didn't you use your wings?" Charmy gave the hedgehog a quick glare, knowing that he was right. Shadow was the first to hit an infected, but Omega wasn't far behind as he loaded the smaller pebbles into his arms and fired them. The dark mammal gave an irritated look, as did Charmy who couldn't hit anything. It only lasted an hour as there were fewer rocks this time, but the final score was:

Shadow: 16

Omega: 44

Charmy: 2

Charmy was in a bit of a huff, but Shadow was quick to reassure him and make him feel better. The hedgehog's sudden fatherly actions were almost second nature to him and to his own surprise, he enjoyed having someone depend upon him. Oddly, the bee was slower walking back down than he was going up.

"Come on, Charms." Shadow called, but as the bee tried to catch up, he collapsed. "Charmy!" The hedgehog panicked. He ran to his side to see if he was okay. The bee was still awake, but he was panting heavily, this made Shadow think. "When did you last eat?"

"I don't know." Charmy replied weakly.

"When did you last drink?"

"I don't know." The bee repeated.

The black mammal searched his mind and tried to take everything one step at a time.

"Okay… we can't stay here. Did the others have any food?"

"A little." Charmy answered as he slowly nodded.

"It's better than nothing. I'm taking you back." Shadow told him while the teen was too weak to argue. The hedgehog picked him up bridal style and was about to head back out into the streets until they caught sight of the horde waiting for them. "Ah, fuck this!" He growled to himself as he got out his emerald and teleported all three of them back to the gas station.

* * *

"We should be al-" Shadow's voice halted instantly when to his horror, infected were everywhere outside. "Oh shit." He whispered. His eyes were darting around the room looking for an answer. They landed on Charmy, who had now passed out in his arms.

The many infected reminded Shadow of Mephiles and the clones he spawned around him. He remembered how taking off the inhibitor rings on his wrists gave him unimaginable power, thus making it easy for him to send them all to oblivion.

"_But… that was so long ago."_ The hedgehog thought. _"Am I even capable of doing that again?"_

Another look to the unconscious Charmy gave Shadow a sudden boost of courage. Omega held the bee, while Shadow took off both rings. The hedgehog took the bee back in one arm, while he had a pistol armed in the other, just in case. He handed his rings over for Omega to hold onto until he needed to put them back on again.

"We go out the back and we don't stop. We go the way the horde was going when we first found Charmy." Shadow informed Omega.

"Understood." He replied and stood behind the mammal.

"Ready? GO!" Shadow yelled as they both charged across the sand. Hundreds of infected were being obliterated from the sheer amount of energy Shadow was giving off. Omega was right behind him, making sure none of them got too close. They managed to keep up their state of invulnerability for a good five minutes, getting through the horde with no problems. It was when they had gained some distance that Shadow realised he had used too much energy. Every thought in his mind was telling him to stay awake, but his body just couldn't take it and his legs gave way forcing him to the desert ground in blackness.

* * *

The shivers of his body were what awoke the hedgehog. The sand was warm despite the chills of the night. He made it to his feet, but his legs were still unsteady, which caused him to fall to his knees a few times. Once his legs had regained their strength, he got up again and looked around. There was nothing. No Omega, no Charmy, nobody. The lost mammal was unsure of how to react and little whispers in his ear stopped him from thinking. He would turn around, but no one would be there.

"Who's there?!" He demanded. His voice was shaken, which he would tell himself was from the cold, but he knew that something wasn't right.

"Shadow…" A voice called from behind him. He turned again, expecting no one to be there. He was wrong.

Stood before him was Rouge. Her eyes were blank and blood was pouring out of her neck from a stab wound. Her head couldn't be supported anymore, so it just hung off to the side. The once confident Ultimate Lifeform was now speechless and terrified. "Why didn't you help me, Shadow?" She wheezed horribly. He wanted to answer, but the words were non-existent to him.

"Shadow…" Another voice whispered from behind him. He didn't want to turn for fear of seeing someone else, but his curiosity wouldn't allow him to close his eyes and hide. Chills shook his body at the sight of Vector. Eyes were also blank and there were bites all over him, some still bleeding. "You took Espio from me!" The angry croc screamed at him. Shadow took a step back out of pure fear, still at a loss as to what to say.

"Shadow…" A third voice called from his right. After a very deep breath, he slowly turned to see Charmy with the same blank eyes. What shocked Shadow the most was his missing arm and the chunk taken from his shoulder. His antennas were only still attached by skin that had not yet decomposed, while his wings had visible holes. "You let me die, Shadow." He said in a calm voice, but that only seemed to scare the hedgehog more.

"Shadow…" A voice came from his left. Tears were now streaming down his face and he shook even more as he looked to see none other than Espio. His eyes were just as blank as the others however, the state he was in showed the black hedgehog a level of fear that he didn't know was possible. His tail was visibly broken while his horn was heavily cracked, but that wasn't what caused the hedgehog to forcibly swallow his vomit back down.

What caused it was the large hole in his chest. Blood was flowing down his torso and dripping onto the sand, staining it red. In his hand was his heart, still beating. "You are the cause of my pain. You will do anything to keep yourself sane and protected, even if it means breaking the heart of another." As the ninja said this, he crushed his own heart in the palm of his hand and allowed the blood to run down his arm. A psychotic, toothy grin was now on the chameleon's face as he began to walk towards the petrified hedgehog.

He wanted to run, to scream or to even attack, but it was as if quicksand had stopped his legs, panic had silenced his voice and fear had disarmed his actions. All four of them were making their way towards him and Shadow was powerless to stop it. Any direction he looked in he could see one of them, so he looked up and to his horror, saw Maria in the sky. She was surrounded by a pale blue aura that matched her dress, but it soon got stained with red. Her usually innocent eyes turned black and blood began pouring from her mouth.

"You have learned nothing!" She screamed down at him. What he heard wasn't human, it was as if a demon had possessed her and distorted her voice. "You allowed me to fall and now you will allow it again?! They will have their vengeance!" She vanished as quickly as she appeared which forced Shadow to look back down. His heart stopped when he was face to face with two blank eyes and a cracked horn. His grin was still present, but the hedgehog was frozen by his demonic stare, allowing the other three to close in. He could feel Charmy breathing upon his neck before a sudden set of teeth clamped down on his shoulder.

* * *

Shadow awoke, his body shaking violently while his eyes were blinded by tears. He was in too much shock to scream. Omega had been shaking him by the shoulder to bring him back to reality. His breathing was quick and shallow, which caused him to become light headed and dizzy. In the end, he had to force himself to calm down as he wiped away his tears. Next to him lay Charmy, still unconscious from exhaustion.

"Movement closing in." Omega warned him as he handed him back his inhibitor rings. Shadow nodded and swiftly put them back on, even if his hands were unsteady. He picked Charmy back up and noticed instantly that he was a lot colder. The hedgehog didn't say anything and began to walk away. "Are you okay?" Omega asked him. The mammal took a minute to answer, but eventually looked back to Omega before he spoke. An expression of complete hopelessness was clear on his face.

"I'm fine, let's go." Was all he said before he continued walking.


	9. Three Is A Life-Saving Number

**I'm back again! I feel a bit better, though not 100%. This chapter I found quite challenging for some reason. Hopefully, the others won't be the same.**

**Do you know what time it is right now? 5am! I find it easier to write at night. My imagination seems to thrive.**

**I'll start Chapter 10 tomorrow once I've had some rest. See you then!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

The only noise that could be heard was footsteps as they made their way across the rest of the desert. Neither of them spoke, allowing the mammal to think and the robot to keep a constant eye out for movement. The nightmare he experienced was still burnt into his mind. He wondered if it was trying to tell him something, but what? He knew already that Rouge was dead and, after checking his pulse and breathing again, knew that Charmy was still alive, but what about the other two? He had no clue if Vector or Espio had survived till now, except for what the exhausted bee had told him. He tried to simplify it in his head and managed to narrow it down to three possibilities. They were either alive, dead or infected. That was all he knew.

The rough terrain and blistering heat wasn't making it anything easier, as well as the fact that they didn't know for certain if the group came this way.

"Omega, is there anything out there?" He asked.

"Nothing." He responded simply. The hedgehog sighed, knowing it was a long shot. Upon looking around, he noticed the flat landscape had become a mountain range of sand dunes. Looking further up, the rays highlighted many spores floating through the air. Shadow's mouth gaped as he wondered how any of them were immune to this stuff. Maybe their brains were created differently or the simple fact that they weren't human, either way Shadow couldn't get his head around it and shook the thought off before he gave himself a headache.

"Do you think… Espio is still alive?" Shadow struggled to say as if questioning his survival was wrong. Omega didn't answer, which caused an odd sense of relief in the hedgehog.

"I don't see why not." A familiar voice came from his arms. Shadow smiled upon seeing the bee's eyes open.

"How are you feeling, little guy? Good to see you awake." Shadow asked softly.

"I feel like crap." His voice was still weak, but they both chuckled nonetheless. "Where are we?"

"Still in the desert. We can only assume that the others came this way." Shadow didn't sound hopeful at all and despite the bee's state, he noticed it easily.

"I'm pretty sure they did. I remember Silver talking about some town or something." His answer may have been vague, but it gave Shadow a much needed boost of confidence.

"Then we'll get there." Shadow reassured. "By the way, have Silver and Blaze finally gotten together yet?" The teen looked confused to begin with; it wasn't a question that Shadow of all people would ask.

"Why?" He asked with curiosity.

"I just remember Rouge, Omega and I would talk about it a lot. We would all agree that Blaze would be the one taking control and Silver would be in the backseat." Charmy listened intently to Shadow's every word as if he was reading him a bedtime story.

"Yeah, they've been together for a while now. Seeing those two is kind of like proof that hope is still out there, ya know? Anyway, what else would you guys talk about?" Charmy questioned, clearly wanting to hear more of Shadow's tales.

"All sorts, really. We would sit on the couch every morning and chat while the news was on. I had this weird habit of throwing the remote at the TV every time Faker was mentioned. Rouge would yell at me for breaking the TV… which I did a lot." Shadow laughed at the memory, he knew he missed it. Charmy did to.

"I remember sitting on the couch watching cartoons all the time. Vector would be at his desk complaining about EVERYTHING. I'm not even kidding! Every. Little. Thing. Espio would always be in his room meditating, not that I could blame him. Wish I could do that." Charmy sighed and continued. "But yeah, I miss all that. It seems so simple, doesn't it?" Shadow nodded.

"Yeah… it's the little things you miss the most." They both agreed. The next few hours were treacherous as the three slowly, but surely made their way across the sands. The atmosphere was horribly dry with only a gentle breeze being a slight relief.

"Do you hear something?" Charmy asked. Shadow nodded in agreement as he listened. A loud humming noise seemed to be getting louder.

"Movement up ahead." Omega told them, but as they came up over a hill, the desert seemed to disappear into grasslands with no one around.

"Where?!" Shadow was forced to yell above the noise.

"Up there!" Charmy yelled back, but then a harsh cough tore through his windpipe. Shadow hesitated at first in case he saw Maria again just like in his nightmare. He looked up nonetheless to instead see a large and noisy airship.

"Shit! That's going to attract every horde for miles!" The hedgehog panicked.

"It already has…" Charmy tried to yell, but he was too weak from the first time. "Look beneath it." Shadow listened to the teen and saw almost an ocean of infected following the noise of the airship.

"_There's got to be fucking hundreds of them…"_ Shadow thought as he pulled out a pistol. Charmy did the same with his pistol and put his other arm around Shadow's neck for support. The three of them stood close to each other as they all began firing at the horde, hoping to kill as many as possible.

Out of nowhere, dozens of the horde began falling like bowling pins as three hover boards came out of the ship and rained death upon the infected. One of them, a purple swallow, came up next to the trio.

"Hop on!" She said.

"Omega, can you still fly?" Shadow asked.

"Affirmative." He responded.

"Then get to the ship, now!" The mammal ordered as he got on the back of the hover board with Charmy. They all flew up to the ship where they were finally safe. Once they were all settled on a very comfortable couch, the trio were greeted by the three who saved and nearly ended their lives.

"Are you guys alright? Sorry about that back there. I'm Wave, this is Storm and this is Jet." The purple swallow said as she pointed to a grey albatross and a green hawk respectively. Omega was stood in the corner as usual, while Shadow sat on the end of the couch that Charmy was lying on.

"I remember you three. I won't lie, part of me wants to kill you, but I am grateful that you saved us." The mammal spoke. "I'm Shadow, this is Omega and Charmy."

"Hey, I remember you from the races a long time ago. I don't think I've met the robot or the bee before though." Jet told them, but then he sunk back into his chair. "I lost to this guy." He whispered, but they all heard him.

"You're still not over that?" Shadow asked.

"He doesn't get over losses easily." Wave told the hedgehog. Shadow simply nodded. "Your friend doesn't look so good." She pointed to Charmy, who was now very pale. Shadow knelt beside him in a sudden panic.

"He hasn't eaten or had a drink in a while. Do you have anything? Anything at all." Shadow asked, his voice filled with desperation. Wave had a sudden saddened look, she actually felt bad for the starving teen.

"I'm sure we have some spare. Jet, go get some food and water." Jet did as he was told, which Shadow raised a brow at.

"I thought Jet led you three." Wave shrugged.

"He's meant to, but… let's just say the end of the world shook him a bit." Shadow nodded in understanding.

"It shook a lot of people." The mammal whispered. "You don't talk much, huh?" Shadow said to Storm who had been stood at the window of the room in silence. Wave spoke for him.

"He gets nervous around strangers. So, how do you all know each other?" She asked changing the subject before Storm got too uncomfortable.

"Omega, robot or not, is a good friend and I'd probably be a goner without him. As for Charmy… do you remember Vector the Crocodile?" Wave nodded remembering him from the same races as Shadow. "He's a friend of his, well… was."

"Oh…" Wave replied awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"We don't know for sure. We're just guessing since we haven't seen him in a long time." Charmy told them, another cough came afterwards. Shadow stroked his helmet as a form of comfort, the bee smiled at Shadow in response.

"So, you two seem to be pretty close. What's your situation? If you don't mind me asking." Wave questioned. Shadow thought back to Espio yet again and wondered if the three rogues could help them.

"Actually, we're looking for another group. One of them is his father and… an old friend of mine." Shadow blushed a little, but looked back to Charmy before the swallow noticed.

"Was it a group of three?" Wave wondered. They both perked up a little, but were still unsure since Charmy was adamant that there were four others with him.

"Not too sure really. Did you find a group of three?" He said in a bit of shock.

"Yeah, not even an hour ago we saw another group on the ground. There was quite a large horde after them, so they were in a hurry, heading in the opposite direction to us."

"Who?" Shadow asked with his eyes staring straight at the bird. Charmy was now sat up and paying attention, his face showed his worry.

"Uh… A hedgehog, a cat, and that Knuckles guy I remember all too well." She told them. Charmy's breathing quickened as did Shadow's.

"Was there a chameleon with them?" The mammal questioned, but Wave shook her head.

"No, I don't think so." She answered. Charmy laid back down and covered his face with his hands. Shadow looked devastated as he stared at the floor. He couldn't think, couldn't react and could barely breathe. "Should there have been?" Shadow nodded slowly.

"It was the chameleon that we were looking for." The Ultimate Lifeform whispered loud enough for Wave to hear. Jet walked back in with a plate of food and a glass of water. Charmy sat up and thanked Jet for the food.

"Not a problem." The hawk replied. "Is everything okay?" He asked feeling the tension in the room. Wave took him into the corridor for a private chat with Storm following close behind, leaving Charmy, Shadow and Omega to talk.

"I'm sorry, uncle Shadow." Charmy spoke first, his voice lacking any emotion.

"I should be saying that to you." Shadow replied. "You may have just lost a father." Charmy did well to resist the urge of breaking down at Shadow's last comment.

"Well… I've still got one left, right?" Charmy's voice had a hint of excitement behind his sadness. Shadow looked up from the floor and slowly turned around until he was facing the bee. "If that's okay with you?" A small, but genuine smile appeared on the hedgehog's face.

"You got it, kid." He got up and gave Charmy a hug. The teen hugged back tighter than expected, but the mammal welcomed it. They both knew that they were family from now on.

Charmy finished eating while Shadow took a 5 minute nap next to him. Wave came back in alone and began talking to them. Shadow opened his eyes, but didn't move.

"Jet agreed to turn the ship around and try to find the group you were looking for; until we do you guys can stay up here, as long as you're okay that this isn't a permanent thing because of food and all that." Charmy wasn't sure what to say, so Shadow was again the one to talk.

"Before I say anything, you can't feed a little bee?" Shadow seemed confused as did Wave.

"Wait, you don't need food?" She asked him. Shadow shook his head slowly. The swallow blinked a few times before she spoke again. "What are you exactly?"

"It's a long story." Shadow told her. "Anyway, we really appreciate your help. You have no idea." Wave grinned and gave a nod of respect before leaving the room once again. Shadow took this opportunity to sleep, Charmy did the same and Omega went back into standby mode.

* * *

A few hours passed and the sun was disappearing over the horizon. A knock at the door woke, or activated, all three of them. Shadow was the first to move off the couch, while Charmy groaned in annoyance. Wave was about to wake him when Shadow insisted that he should be the one to do it. He walked up and crouched in front of Charmy who still had his eyes closed. He carefully placed his hand on the bee's shoulder.

"WAKE UP, CHARMY! IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!" He yelled whilst shaking him violently. Charmy freaked out and fell onto the floor leaving Shadow and Wave in stitches.

"You prick!" Charmy yelled as he caught his breath. After a minute, the bee began to chuckle along with them. It was the most exciting wakeup call he had ever had.

"Anyway, Wave, was there something you needed?" Shadow asked remembering that she had come in for a reason.

"Yeah, you might want to look out the window. We've never seen a horde like it." Shadow was sceptical at first as was Charmy, but upon looking out of the window they saw for themselves that she wasn't exaggerating.

"What about any living people?" Shadow wondered.

"We haven't been able to see anyone yet, but we have a search light on the bottom of the ship. It's making the infected go crazy." Wave told them. "You guys keep a look out. I gotta get back to Jet. If you see anything, just yell." She then left the room, leaving the door open so that they could hear each other.

"Whoa, she wasn't kidding." Charmy said once he had gotten to grips with the sheer amount of infected.

"It's the noise of the ship. I hope those three aren't down there." Shadow grew more anxious by the second, but he knew if he went down there, he would be sending himself to his grave. The light was swiftly fading and the open grasslands were quickly pitch black with the only thing any one of them could see, was what the search light had lit up. Omega had been scanning the land below them and had found nothing, until now.

"Flashes of light in the distance." He informed the other two. Shadow remembered Omega saying that before and knew exactly where the flashes were coming from.

"Wave, there are gunshots!" He yelled. "Charms, I'm going down there." The bee looked up at him with his mouth open.

"What?! Did you not see what was down there?!" The teen panicked.

"What if Espio _is_ down there? I could-" But before Shadow could explain any further, Charmy interrupted him.

"If you go, then I'm going with you." His voice was stern and certain.

"Charmy, if you get bit then that is the end for you. If I get bit then at least I have a chance."

"Don't give me that shit! You have no idea if you can get infected or not! You could be just as vulnerable as I am!" Charmy yelled in frustration. Shadow couldn't argue. He knew he couldn't just think of himself and Espio. Charmy was his son, as much as the chameleon's, and he had to think of him first.

"Alright, alright." He reassured. "I'm not going anywhere." Charmy relaxed a little.

"Thank you, Shadow." He hugged the hedgehog before he began looking out the window once more. Suddenly, Wave came into the room and told them that all three rogues were going down to assist the group just like they did with Shadow, Charmy and Omega. Charmy looked to Shadow with a worried expression thinking that the mammal would go with them.

"Alright, good luck you guys. I'm staying up here with these two." The black hedgehog informed her. Charmy smiled with relief that Shadow was staying with him. Wave nodded and rushed off with her Extreme Gear in hand.

They turned their attention back to the window to see all three with fully-automatic rifles mowing down infected just like before. The scene was actually very impressive. The three were flying above the infected, taking dozens of them down every second. At this rate, the entire horde would be wiped out with no problems, depending on how much ammo they all had.

Shadow took this opportunity to think.

"_Espio could be dying out there, he could be dead. No, I'm doing the right thing… Charmy needs me. Then why do I feel so helpless? Why do I feel so pathetic? They could all be dead, but that doesn't hurt me… Espio dead hurts me…"_

Shadow looked to the floor, utterly devastated. Charmy noticed and felt incredibly guilty.

"Uncle Shadow?"

"Yeah?" He replied with very little energy in his voice.

"You wanna kick some infected ass?" A smug grin was clear on the teen's face. Shadow looked over to see Charmy with a pistol in each hand. Omega then caught his attention as he walked up behind them and loaded both his machine guns. A confident grin soon made its presence known upon the mammal's face as he got his shotgun in one hand and his Chaos Emerald in the other.

"Then let's end this." Shadow said before teleporting all three of them down to the surface.


	10. Where There's Light, There's Shadow

**Hey everyone!**

**I finally got this chapter done for you all and I must say, this story wouldn't have gotten this far without your support. I sincerely thank you all for it and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**As always, I will see you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

From the second they landed, the roar of bullets began annihilating anything in its path. Omega didn't stop for anything, leaving a carpet of infected in his wake. Charmy flew up to get a better vantage point and began to pop heads with little effort.

Shadow was being creative with his kills. He would, of course, blow the torso's off of anything that got close, but he would also use his shotgun as a melee weapon, literally knocking their heads into the distance. The flying teen was impressed by Shadow's 'unique' way of killing and decided to get his blade involved. He would hover behind an infected, pull its head back and slice it off. Despite the dozens that were being wiped out, they kept coming and were able to replenish the losses.

"Charmy! Get Jet to move the ship! It'll draw these fuckers away from here!" Shadow yelled. Charmy nodded and flew off to inform Jet. The hawk agreed and flew back up to the ship while Wave and Storm stayed to provide air support. It began to move, but because of its size, it was very slow.

The others were forced to keep fighting despite the ammo situation getting more and more desperate. The Ultimate Lifeform was now using both his pistols because his shotgun had run out. Omega was still going strong, while Charmy was using his knife more and more to conserve what little ammo he had. To their surprise, infected began to gang up on Omega more than anyone else. It was the robot who was the killing the most and the infected knew it!

"_Fuck, they're getting smarter?!"_ Shadow panicked as he went to get the infected off of his back. The two remaining rogues also saw this and helped free Omega in a few minutes, allowing the robot to get back to what he did best. However, once the rogues had moved off, the infected came back and swarmed the mammal.

"Shadow!" Charmy cried as he lost sight of the black hedgehog. Both Omega and Charmy began firing upon where Shadow was in a hope of killing them all before any damage was done.

"I'm right here, Charms. Don't worry." Shadow suddenly said from behind him. The bee looked at him speechless and just stared at him in complete bewilderment. "Uh, Chaos Control, remember?" Charmy was still frozen. "Just kill them, alright?!" Shadow ordered. The insect snapped out of his trance and got back to it. All of a sudden both Babylon Rogues went back up to the ship and Jet came back out.

"What's going on?" Charmy asked.

"Their boards were running low on fuel, so they switched places with me." Jet told them, Shadow raised a brow and questioned the hawk further.

"Fuel? How the hell do you guys have fuel?"

"Well, not fuel, more like Chaos energy." He explained.

"You have an emerald?" Shadow seemed shocked but soon calmed.

"Well duh, we wouldn't have an airship or boards at all if it wasn't for that gem." He then went straight back to attacking the horde. In the distance, they could see many of the infected being surrounded by a bright blue aura and then being thrown miles away.

"Hey! That's got to be Silver over there!" Charmy yelled excitedly.

"Yeah, and the ones being burnt to a crisp must be Blaze." Shadow replied.

"What about Knuckles?" Charmy asked.

"Fuck knows." Shadow said bluntly. Espio suddenly entered the hedgehog's mind once more. He tossed both his pistols aside since they were out of ammo anyway and charged into the middle of the horde.

"What the fuck is he doing?!" Charmy panicked. A red aura began to surround the hedgehog. He allowed himself to think that Espio was dead just so he could get enraged. His breathing got quicker and quicker and his eyes began glowing bright red. The bee watched in amazement as a shield of energy allowed the hedgehog to charge up a colossal Chaos Blast without fear of being bitten. A few seconds later, the sky lit up with a blood red and the infected began charging at the hedgehog, ignoring everyone else.

"_It's too late for you…"_ Shadow mocked with a very sly grin as he could feel the power building up inside of him. "Chaos… BLAST!" He screamed allowing the Chaos energy to incinerate the vast majority of infected.

"Yeah! That's how you fucking do it!" Charmy yelled, allowing his childish enthusiasm to return for a few moments. Bodies and limbs exploded into the sky like fireworks, while everyone had stopped attacking and watched hypnotically. A few dozen still remained, which everyone got to work taking out. Shadow needed a minute to catch his breath and gather his surroundings. Everything was still dark, but his eyes soon managed to adjust. There were scattered limbs as far as he could see. He almost couldn't believe the amount of power he could summon. While it was still quiet, Shadow took the opportunity to be by himself and ponder everything that had just happened. Charmy watched as the hedgehog slowly began walking away, he knew he needed to be alone and it caused a sudden sadness to come over him.

* * *

There was a steep hill nearby that the full moon had brightened up perfectly. The grass seemed to shine against its cool, white glow. The black hedgehog got to the top and sat down, allowing himself to take a few deep breaths. His gaze gradually looked further up until he saw the stars yet again.

"We did well today." He spoke despite there being no one nearby to hear. It somehow eased his pain speaking the thoughts out loud rather than just thinking them. "I thought of you during that Chaos Blast." He continued. "Your death fuelled my rage, which in turn saved everyone here. I saved lives, but I don't feel happy. This was the pain I was trying to protect myself from, but you've managed it anyway. The only difference is… it feels so much worse because I never got to see you again, never got to tell you everything that I was too afraid to tell you 10 years ago." Shadow looked down, originally planning to look at his feet, but something else caught his eye. The moonlight was reflecting off of the shuriken star he was still wearing. He took it off and stared at it within the palm of his hand. His fingers gently closed around it as unexpected tears fell from his eyes. He wanted to speak more, but his bottom lip began to tremble. The break down was inevitable, but he fought with everything he had to stop it. Another glance at the star was enough to send him over the edge. His free hand covered his face and he allowed himself to cry into it.

"Espio…" He whimpered. "…I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for not being honest from the start. I'm sorry for hurting you as much as I did. I'm sorry that you were so broken that you had to rely on a child to keep you sane… and I'm sorry I couldn't reach you in time." The hedgehog was so overwhelmed by his sorrow that he didn't notice Charmy at the bottom of the hill. The bee knew he shouldn't be there listening in, but part of him couldn't believe Shadow's pain was real. Only through hearing it first-hand did Charmy finally admit that Shadow had meant everything he said.

"Dad…" The bee whispered before leaving Shadow to be alone.

* * *

He came back down to where the searchlight was to find everyone chatting and catching up. Wave had moved the ship back overhead and joined Jet, who was talking to Silver, Blaze and Knuckles, while Storm was somehow making conversation with Omega.

"Charmy!" Knuckles, Silver and Blaze all cheered once they noticed the teen approaching them. They each gave the bee a welcoming hug before Knuckles began talking to him.

"We thought you were a goner, little guy."

"Pfft, please, I can take care of myself just fine. Have some faith in me for once." His comment earned him some weird looks from all of them. The three knew what he meant and even apologised, which caught the bee slightly off-guard. "So, where's dad?" He asked despite knowing the answer already. The three looked at each other awkwardly. In the end, Knuckles was the one to talk.

"Well, we were going to set up a small camp a few miles back so that we could rest for the night. Espio volunteered to go get fire wood and while he was gone this horde just showed up and came charging at us. There was no way we could take them all on, so we just ran and now we're here."

"So, wait, you don't actually know where he is?" His voice sounded hopeful, which the others didn't understand.

"No. Sorry, Charms." Knuckles said as he scratched his head expecting the insect to be upset or angry.

"I've got to tell Shadow!" But before the teen could sprint off to where Shadow was, the echidna stopped him.

"Hold up, Shadow is here?!" His voice was clearly irritated and Charmy knew he at least owed them an explanation.

"Of course he is! Didn't you see that Chaos Blast?"

"Oh, is that what that was?" Knuckles got lost in thought for a second, but soon got back on track. "Anyway, wasn't this the same Shadow that both you and Espio hated? Are you forgetting how much that hedgehog completely screwed up your father?" Charmy was getting wound up. He remembered everything he said and now he had to prove the opposite.

"No, I haven't forgotten what he did and no, I won't ever forgive him for it, but that was 10 years ago! I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him! It is that hedgehog that saved my life, more than once I might add! It is that hedgehog that has been searching for Espio all this time and it is that hedgehog that is sat on the hill over there crying his eyes out, because of how much he misses him!" He paused to calm himself. Everyone around him was speechless, especially the Babylon Rogues who had no idea about the situation. "I shouldn't even have to explain myself to you guys, since this isn't your choice to make, but I did anyway because he genuinely cares for Espio more than any of you ever could." His voice was more stern than angry, which proved to the others that he meant every word. "Now then…" He continued. "You guys are going to go look for him while I talk to Shadow. Do I make myself clear?" They all nodded and quickly ran off, leaving the Rogues stunned and staring at the bee. "What? It feels good to be giving the orders instead of just taking them." Charmy smiled before he hurried to inform Shadow.

* * *

The hedgehog had managed to stop himself crying. He was sat in the same spot looking up at the stars while fiddling with the shuriken in his hand.

"Shadow! Shadow! Shadow!" The insect repeated excitedly. Shadow sighed heavily.

"Charmy, I'm not in the mood right now, okay?" His voice was tired and lacked any emotion, but Charmy knew that would all change in the next few moments.

"You don't understand! Espio could be alive!" He was practically jumping around the hedgehog, who was now staring at the bee.

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked.

"He wasn't with them when the horde attacked! He was getting fire wood! Come on, we gotta go find him!" Shadow wasn't sure how to react at first; he didn't want to get his hopes up in case something bad did happen. He looked to the star in his hand once more before putting it back around his neck.

"Right behind you." Shadow said calmly before they both sped off. They eventually came to a heavily wooded area. Small gaps between the leaves were the only things that allowed the moonlight to shine through. Darkness and trees surrounded them otherwise. It was silent with their footsteps and breathing being the only disturbance. They never said a word in case there were more infected nearby, they'd rather be patient than eaten.

"How ya feelin'?" Charmy whispered. Shadow was secretly thankful that he asked since he was certain that his mind was about to explode.

"I'm uh… nervous." He admitted.

"Nervous? Why?" Charmy looked puzzled, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen Shadow nervous before.

"Because I never thought of this moment actually happening. I never thought in a million years that I'd see him again and even if I did, he'd probably hate me for what I did. I know I'd hate me." The bee turned and stopped Shadow in his tracks.

"Are you having second thoughts?" His voice had an underlying growl which didn't make the hedgehog feel any better. He scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders not knowing how to answer, but his body language was enough for Charmy to figure it out. "After all we've been through to get to this point, you're just gonna turn your back on it now?" Shadow simply looked away and crossed his arms. "How many times do I have to tell you that Espio was a wreck without you? He may have expressed hate for your actions, but there is no doubt in my mind that you are the one who should be at his side." The hedgehog turned to the bee with his mouth half open.

"What would I even say to him?" His voice was low and calm which gave the impression that he wasn't nervous at all, but Charmy knew better.

"You admit everything just like you told me you would. You stare your fear in the eyes and you tell it to fuck off. Tell him what you should've done 10 years ago and you make damn sure that you don't lose him again." His words shot down any new doubts that he had and a small grin appeared. The bee smiled in return before he kept walking with Shadow close behind.

Not even five minutes passed when Charmy came to a halt once again. It was so sudden that Shadow walked into the back of him.

"What is it, Charmy?" The hedgehog asked him.

"Did you hear something just then?" The bee whispered.

"No, I don't hear anything." He replied honestly, but Charmy was certain that his mind wasn't messing with him.

"I'm telling you, I heard something. Come on." Before Shadow could say a word, the curious teen ran off further into the woods.

"Fuck sake, Charmy! Wait up!" Shadow whispered loudly in annoyance. He quickly chased after him only to see another shadowy figure charging after the bee to his right. "Charmy! Look out!" The hedgehog yelled in a panic. He skated as fast as he could, catching up with the bee who had now stopped after Shadow's warning. He knocked the teen out of the way, making the infected jump on him instead. Shadow was forced to the ground with a loud thud as the infected tried its best to get at him. A few seconds later, a gunshot echoed through the eerie landscape causing everyone to worry.

Shadow pushed the corpse off of him before trying to catch his breath.

"Uncle Shadow! Are you ok?!" Charmy's voice was shaken and scared, so the hedgehog tried his best to reassure him.

"I'm alright, Charms. Just don't run off like that again, alright? That could've been your end." Shadow warned him and the bee was sure to pay attention. The black mammal got up and dusted himself off before walking along with the teen right next to him.

"So, Shadow, what _are_ you going to say to him?" Charmy asked in a teasing voice. Shadow gave him a strange glance and decided not to answer. "Seriously, how would you start off, like, what would you say?" The hedgehog took him seriously this time and thought about his answer thoroughly before he replied.

"Okay, if I was talking to him right now, then I would start by apologising for being such an asshole to him." Shadow saddened more and more as he spoke. "I would tell him how much of an idiot I am for letting him go in the first place and how sorry I am for hurting him." The hedgehog stopped and took several deep breaths. Each one was shaken, but he managed to pull it together before the tears broke out yet again. He looked back up and stared Charmy in the eyes. The teen could see desperation; he could see Shadow's need to be near the chameleon once again. "I could tell you everything that I would say right now, but none of it will matter until we find him."

"Then you don't have very far to look." A deep voice said to the right of him. Shadow looked around in shock only to see a figure materialise out of nowhere. Every fibre of his being was begging for it to be the one he had been looking for; the one chameleon he longed for more than anything else. The mammal's eyes widened as his 10 year search finally came to an end. Stood before him was the reptile that had caused him the greatest pain and the deepest desire.

"_It's him…"_ Shadow thought as his mind could only think of one thing. _"It's Espio."_


	11. Something Broken

**Hello! It's been a while, huh? I know it's been a few days, but I wanted to make sure that I put everything into this chapter. I know this one is going to be an EHH (Emotional Hard-Hitter). That's the pet name I give those really emotional chapters. It is also the noise I make during an emotional overload.**

**The other reason why this took a little longer is because the majority of the next chapter is done as well. So, there may be two chapters in one night. I thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it!**

**See you all again soon!**

**Arby xx**

**P.S. I found a Shadow plushie when I was cleaning my room. So, he's a new fan fiction companion along with Sage, Zeus and the three fish!**

* * *

They each had their gazes locked upon each other for several minutes until Shadow looked back to Charmy, who had an unexpected smile on his face.

"You-you knew he was there, didn't you?" Shadow asked him. The bee nodded excitedly like the 6 year old he once was.

"I'll let you two get re-acquainted." He whispered before he tip-toed away to listen in from behind a tree.

Shadow was speechless to begin with, he just wanted to look at him; to appreciate that he was there and alive. For the most part, Espio was exactly how he remembered; equipped with his usual ninja weaponry. He had two noticeable additions however, one being a ninja sword on his back and the second being a large dagger on his waist. It was obvious that the chameleon favoured the hand-to-hand combat style. There wasn't a single gun on him. A hatchet was clear in his hand, which Shadow hoped was for firewood and not for anything else. His amber eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. The hedgehog was completely lost in them. The once bright purple scales that covered him were now of a darker shade, which seemed to highlight his golden eyes even more.

"Espio…" The black hedgehog whispered, still in a state of disbelief.

"It has been a while, hedgehog. Nice star you have there." The chameleon replied noticing one of his stars around his neck. His voice was still deep, calm and like music to the mammal's ears.

"You uh… left it at my house. It was all I had left of you." The hedgehog told him. "So… how much of that did you hear?" Shadow asked once gaining some hold of the reality around him.

"I heard everything, but believe nothing." Espio's voice had an edge as he said it. Shadow could feel the pain his words were causing, but had to keep it hidden. Despite saying himself that the reptile would hate him, the hedgehog always had this hidden hope that he would be forgiven, that hope was now burning.

"So, you remember-" Shadow began, but was quickly cut off.

"I remember perfectly. The ARK, the humiliation and the hell I went through afterwards." Shadow looked to the ground in shame. "Tell me, why the hell are you even here?" The hedgehog quickly looked back up and locked eyes. He could see his hate, but knew that it was now or never.

"I was looking for you. There's a lot that you need to know, things that I was too afraid to admit 10 years ago." The mammal's heart was racing, but his voice gave no indication.

"Like what?" The chameleon's voice had suddenly become a lot quieter for reasons neither of them knew. Charmy's words echoed in his head as he became more nervous.

"Like how I was so caught up in my own fears that I allowed the most important person in my life to leave me." Espio's expression didn't change, it would seem that he was unbreakable, but Shadow knew him better than that. If he was going to prove that he really cared, then he would have to dig deeper than his fears would allow. "You were all I could think about after that and I spent months trying to figure out why, but I only got more and more frustrated because deep down I knew I was lying to myself."

"And I'm supposed to believe all this?" Espio questioned. Shadow took a minute to answer, allowing the stab of his words to wear off.

"…No. But the fact that I came to you this time should mean something." The black hedgehog's gaze never shifted from the reptile, something Espio definitely noticed.

"Then what's stopping me from humiliating you the same way?"

"Nothing." Shadow answered simply. "But I am not going to give up unless I know for certain that there is no way I can get you back." Espio looked away for the first time; he turned his gaze to the skies as he spoke.

"I was depressed for a long time because of you. Charmy was the only one there and without him… I don't even want to think about where I could be right now. But because of that, I have relied on him for everything, which is unbelievably selfish on my part, yet I can't help it. I know I'm not who I was and you, hedgehog are to blame for that!" Espio's breathing got deeper as he looked back at Shadow. His expression was undoubtedly angry, but the mammal could see pain hidden amongst it.

"Charmy told me about that. He broke apart right in front of me because he can't handle it. But you don't have to rely on him anymore…" He paused. Espio had a hard glare upon him and he was visibly shaking. All the hedgehog wanted to do was hold the chameleon close and comfort him, but the only way he was going to do that was to get past his cold exterior first. "…You can rely on me." Shadow finished.

The reptile was torn. Part of him simply wanted to forget it all and forgive the mammal, but another part was telling him that he would only be hurt again; that Shadow would only run if he got closer to him.

"How do I know that you mean those words? How do I know that you'll really be there?" Espio had a thousand other questions flying through his mind, but managed to keep his composure.

"I wouldn't have come all this way or searched all these years if it wasn't important… if you weren't important." Shadow took a step closer expecting Espio to move further away, but to his surprise, he stayed where he was. "You mean everything to me, Espio. I'm not afraid to admit it anymore. The only thing I am afraid of is losing you again. I know you may not feel the same way anymore, but there is one thing you should know. Whether we're together or not, we have a son to think of."

"We?" Espio asked clearly irritated.

"Yes 'we'. I am just as much of a father to him as you are."

"Is that right? Well, then where the hell were you the past 10 years?!" The ninja was yelling now. Shadow didn't want to hurt him, but this was something that had to be brought up, whether it ended in a fight or not.

"And where were you when that bomb went off?! Where were you when he was starving to death?! And where the fuck were you back there when that infected attacked him?! You raised him as a weapon, not as a son!" A definite nerve was hit and the ninja allowed his anger to show the mistake he had made. Shadow was immediately knocked to the ground in one swift punch, something that was out of character for Espio. The hedgehog was on his hands and knees. The side of his face felt sore and a slight taste of blood was present in his mouth.

"Don't you ever criticise the way I raised him! You don't have the fucking right, especially when you haven't been here!" The chameleon yelled down at him. Shadow soon got back up and faced Espio once again.

"I deserved that." The chameleon gave him a weird look because his voice was still as calm as ever. "You can scream at me all you want. In fact, I welcome it. Beat the shit out of me, if you have to. Whatever it takes to make you feel better, but just know that I will still be here because you deserve someone that will stand by your side no matter what." The ninja wanted to be angry, but couldn't. He didn't know what to do and was far too confused to think straight. For that moment he wanted it all to end, he wanted to forget everything and wake up from this emotional nightmare.

It all got too much and no amount of fighting would hold back the tears this time. Shadow was completely stunned when the ninja broke down in front of him. At the risk of being punched again, the hedgehog put his arms around the chameleon. Espio kept hitting him in the chest trying to force him to let go, but he only hugged him tighter. In the end, Espio stopped fighting and held the mammal tight.

"Shadow…" He cried. The hedgehog was caught off-guard, realising that this was the first time Espio had said his name since he came back. Tears of his own made their way down his cheeks while his arms kept the ninja close.

"Shh, it's alright." Shadow reassured comforting both the chameleon and himself. "I'm here, Espio. I've got you." The ninja held him tighter upon hearing his words. Only now did he believe the hedgehog had meant everything he said. Charmy was still hidden behind the tree. He was peeking his head round and smiling once he caught sight of the pair.

"Yay." He whispered, being careful to not disturb them.

For a little while, neither could let go of the other. It was as if they were in a world of their own, a world of peace and certainty where one's purpose was simply the other.

"Promise me you won't ever leave again." Espio whispered once he had calmed down. They let go of one another, but Shadow remained deadly quiet. The reptile grew a little suspicious and even wondered if the hedgehog had heard him, regardless of the fact that he was right in front of him and the area was silent. "You did hear me, right?" He questioned nonetheless. Shadow nodded.

"Yeah, I heard you." Espio grew even more suspicious and questioned his true motive.

"You can't, can you?" Shadow again didn't say a word. "You asshole! You're going to run again, aren't you?!" The hedgehog began to panic.

"No! No! That's not it at all!"

"Then what the fuck is it?!" Espio snapped back at him.

"It's because…" He stopped and his face turned from worried to serious. Espio was clueless and waited for his explanation. "…When Charmy was attacked back there, I pushed him out of the way so it would attack me instead." The bee in question was leaning further out from behind the tree now and was just as confused as his chameleon father.

"I am thankful for that Shadow, but what is your point?" Espio had calmed a lot and simply wanted to know why.

"Look." The hedgehog replied simply as he held out his right arm. The ninja's face was baffled to begin with until he looked at his arm. Espio's breathing suddenly began to shake and new tears returned to replace the old ones. Shadow had looked away and had his eyes tightly closed, he didn't want to see Espio's disappointment in him. "I was bitten." Shadow admitted. The chameleon began shaking his head in disbelief. Charmy had run up to him to see for himself.

"No way, there's just no-" Charmy begged, but it was clear, the teeth marks near his wrist. "Oh my Chaos… uncle Shadow?" The hedgehog looked back at Espio.

"That's why." He finished.

"It's my fault. If I hadn't run off-" The bee began, but Shadow knelt to his level and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You listen to me; this is _not_ your fault. This is nobody's fault, okay? There may still be a chance." The hedgehog tried to reassure, but Charmy knew the reality of the situation.

"But we don't know that." He told the mammal, who couldn't argue with what was true.

"There is one way to stop the infection, assuming you are infected." Espio spoke up. They both stared at him with desperate eyes.

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"We stop it before it spreads further… by cutting off your arm." Espio looked away knowing that neither of them would react well.

"Are you serious?" Charmy questioned.

"Yes, I'm serious, unless you have a better idea?" As expected, the duo remained silent. "Thought not."

"Can we get back to the ship? The walk could do us some good, plus there could be more out here." Shadow asked and they all agreed. Shadow and Espio walked in front while Charmy was behind. It reminded all of them of the mountain range, but none of them said anything.

An idea came to the hedgehog's mind that he would usually be unsure of, but not today. He unexpectedly wrapped his hand around Espio's, clearly catching the ninja off-guard. He immediately looked down to their hands and then up to Shadow who had a rare, warm smile. The chameleon's face lit up in a bright red, which caused Shadow to chuckle. Another muffled chuckle came from behind them which Shadow quickly took care of.

"Shut it, you." He joked and Charmy didn't expect it.

"Uh, I wasn't laughing at you, I swear! I was just, well, you guys… it's cute, okay? I admit it… you guys are cute." Charmy stuttered in embarrassment. A smug grin was obvious on the other two.

"Good boy." Shadow said as the teen covered his face with his hands whilst still walking. For a moment, they all forgot about the infection. They all forgot about everyday potentially being the last and they all forgot about Shadow's situation. It was the first moment that they all felt safe and felt like a family.

* * *

Everyone at the ship only had a few seconds of relief once they caught sight of the trio. Espio was quick to explain the situation knowing how fast the infection could potentially be.

"Now that you're all up to speed, there's a question I need to ask all of you." Espio began. "Who's going to be the one to do it?" Everyone looked around to see who would volunteer. Storm crouched down slightly behind Wave and Jet while the others looked to Knuckles, who was getting increasingly nervous.

"I'll do it." The others all looked to the source of the voice to see Charmy looking very determined. "And before you say anything dad, yes, I can do it and yes, I am sure." Charmy finished. The chameleon glanced back and forth between Shadow and Charmy before replying.

"I know, I trust you."

"You know, that's the first time you've ever said that to me." Charmy pointed out. Espio looked away in shame.

"But, what are you going to cut it off with?" Knuckles asked.

"I can do it." Omega stepped up loading his machine guns. Espio's face went slightly pale and Shadow almost choked on thin air.

"Uh, that's gonna do a lot more than just take off my arm off." The hedgehog told him.

"I still have your hatchet, Knuckles." Espio said holding it up.

"That'll do, but we're gonna need bandages and antiseptic as well, to stop him bleeding out and to stop it getting infected." Everyone was impressed by Charmy's knowledge and were now realising how much they underestimated the teen.

"We might have some spare. Jet, go up to ship and see if you can find anything." Wave instructed and in a flash, the hawk had already flown back up to the ship on his Extreme Gear.

"Can you even die of blood loss?" Espio asked. The black mammal nodded slowly, the ninja sighed. "Great." He said sarcastically.

"You're probably gonna wanna lie down for this." Charmy told Shadow who agreed and laid on the already blood-stained grass. Espio handed the bee Knuckles' hatchet and knelt down beside the hedgehog. They regained a hold of each other's hand and looked into each other's eyes. Espio was trying to look strong for Shadow, but instead looked very worried while the hedgehog had the face of fear.

"I won't lie Es, I'm scared." Shadow admitted.

"I know, I would be to." Espio told him which seemed to make him feel a tiny bit better. Jet swiftly came back down with everything Charmy needed. The bee thanked him before looking at Shadow. The black hedgehog was staring at his right hand and moving his fingers.

"Shadow…" Charmy began bringing the mammal out of his thoughts. "…We're all ready." He told him. The Ultimate Lifeform took several deep breaths, each one shaken and nervous.

"Just don't tell me when you about to… you know, okay?" Shadow asked. Charmy nodded and looked to Espio.

"You can do it." The chameleon told him.

"Thanks, dad. That's all I needed." A small smile was exchanged between the two before they both returned to being serious. Shadow had looked away and tightly closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact. Everyone else had backed away, but the sheer reality was forcing them to watch. Charmy brought the hatched above his head and took a deep breath. Without warning, he brought it down hard on Shadow's arm, tearing through his flesh with ease and getting stuck on the bone.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Shadow screamed in agony. His own body wouldn't allow him to keep still, meaning Charmy couldn't finish the job.

"Dad, you have to pin him!" Charmy ordered. Espio let go of the hedgehog's hand and pinned him by the shoulders. Knuckles ran over and held onto Shadow's arm to keep it still. Charmy managed to bring the hatchet down on him again, it managed to dig deeper into the bone, but still wasn't enough to get through.

"Are you done yet?!" Espio had to yell over Shadow's agonising cries.

"Almost!" Charmy told him before bringing it down a third time. With all his strength, Charmy slammed it down on his arm enough to take it off. Shadow was crying in horrific pain and Espio knew no words would be able to comfort him. Knuckles handed the antiseptic to Charmy, who applied it as quickly as possible. It felt as if a thousand needles were tearing through his body and he simply couldn't take it. Any energy he had, suddenly vanished and he was instantly overcome by darkness. Everyone was quick to notice when the black hedgehog went silent, but Espio was the first to panic. Charmy reassured him as he bandaged the arm.

"Relax, this is normal. The pain would've overwhelmed him; he'll be out for the next day or so probably." The chameleon sighed with a little relief, but still couldn't help but worry. The others came over and began to talk about their new situation.

"What are we going to do with him?" Blaze asked to begin with.

"What do you mean?" Espio questioned the feline.

"We can't carry him because he'll slow us down, maybe even get us all killed. We could wait until he's fit enough to walk, which would be a day wasted or we could leave him behind." Blaze explained.

"You've got some nerve bringing that up at all." Espio growled as he got up and glared at her.

"Okay guys, calm down." Silver jumped in trying to be the peace keeper. "We have to think of all of our options here. Yes, leaving him is one, but it's not the only." Espio nodded and sat back down.

"What if he's still infected?" Blaze spoke again. "He could wake up and infect the rest of us." Anxious glances were exchanged between the group, but Espio refused to listen.

"What if he's not? He could be just fine." The chameleon pointed out. Both options were a possibility, but they didn't know enough to come to any conclusion.

"Wait a second!" Knuckles suddenly exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "Remember that plan we all gave up on a couple of years back?"

"You mean the one where we find a working plane and get to Angel Island? There's a reason we gave up on that, you know." Charmy told him. "There's not a working plane anywhere, never mind the fuel and someone to fly it."

"It doesn't have to be a plane, genius." Knuckles began pointing upwards. "It could be an airship." The entire group slowly turned to face the three Rogues.

"What?" Jet asked.

"We have an enormous favour to ask you." Charmy spoke, but Wave was quick to point out some issues.

"We have no idea how long it'll take to get there, not to mention that we can't provide food for all of you, even with Shadow and Omega not needing it."

"I ate earlier, so I'll be good for a little while." Charmy told them.

"I am trained to go for a long time on little food. I'll be just fine." Espio said afterwards.

"I ate what little we had yesterday, so you're only really providing for these two." Blaze explained as she pointed to Silver and Knuckles.

"I… guess we could handle that." Jet said seeming hopeful, but looked to Wave for confirmation.

"Two more shouldn't be a problem for the time being. We'll go land the ship, so you guys can get on." Wave nodded and all three Rogues flew back up to the ship. Once it had landed, Wave came back out and asked the group one more question. "I hate to bring this up again, but what about him?" She gestured to Shadow as Knuckles and Silver were carrying him on to the ship. "What if he is infected?"

"We could simply keep him in a separate room." Charmy suggested. Everyone agreed and Wave showed the two where to put him.

"Charms, I'm staying with him." Espio spoke with a confident voice, something he hadn't been able to for a long time.

"What? But what if he-" Charmy was cut off.

"I am not leaving his side." The ninja was adamant and the bee knew he couldn't argue.

"At least take this, in case the worst does happen." The teen pulled out his modified pistol and handed to Espio. "It only has like, three shots, but one would be enough." The chameleon knelt down and hugged the bee tight.

"Everything will be fine. Thank you, Charmy." The reptile reassured before going with Shadow. Once everyone was on board, the Rogues set the destination for Angel Island. All any of them could do now, was wait.


	12. Knowledge Is Power

**Hi again!**

**I almost got two chapters uploaded in one day, but I'm late by half an hour, hehe!**

**Anyway, who is ready for a double-length chapter?! I usually aim for about six pages per chapter, but this one turned out to be thirteen. 0.0 The reason for this is because I am back at college, so the time I have to spend on this will be a lot less, even if I don't want it to be. So, I hope this will keep you all occupied until I get the chance to write more.**

**Enjoy this extra-long chapter and I will see you all again soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

A large, comfortable couch rested his tired body. He thought about opening his eyes, but part of him wanted to relish this rare moment of peace. His body shifted, allowing himself to get comfortable until he noticed something holding onto him. Curiosity was too tempting as his eyelids showed the new world around him.

It was the middle of the night, but the silhouettes of two other couches and a table were visible against the large window on the wall opposite. The arms wrapped around him tightened as he looked around. The hedgehog already knew who it was that was keeping him warm alongside the blanket he was snuggled up in. The ninja was asleep next to him while being sure that Shadow was close. A small chuckle escaped the mammal that matched the night before going back to sleep.

* * *

The Babylon ship seemed to have a new tradition of waking people up by knocking on the door. It also seemed to be only Wave that knocked since both Jet and Storm would barge in without a second thought.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Wave asked apologetically. She seemed a little anxious entering to begin with; perhaps she thought she would've seen a blood bath with one or both of them dead.

"It's fine, Wave. We would've had to get up at some point anyway." Espio spoke as he stretched out and yawned loudly. The swallow looked down at Shadow to see his eyes also open.

"Good to see you awake, Shadow." Wave smiled at him. Shadow nodded in agreement as he struggled to get himself up. He wondered why at first, but one glance at his arm caused the memories to come screaming back to him. He sighed heavily and Espio could tell that he needed some reassurance.

"It's alright; it was to save your life." The ninja told him.

"Assuming I'm not infected right now." Shadow replied.

"Well, it has been at least a day and you seem fine." Shadow didn't even realise that he had been out for so long. He felt relieved that he wasn't chewing on the arm of the one he held close, but he did wonder if it would stay that way.

"Anyway, I came in to tell you that Angel Island is in sight. It turns out that it was closer than we thought." Wave informed the two before she left.

"Well, it looks as if we've made it." Espio began feeling very confident, but Shadow was still uneasy and would remain uneasy until he knew for sure that he was in the clear.

"We don't know that yet." Shadow's voice lacked any energy and he often found himself staring blankly at the floor. The chameleon was deeply saddened by Shadow's lack of enthusiasm, but at the same time, couldn't blame him. He didn't know what to say, so instead changed the subject.

"Come on, we'll be landing soon and we need to be ready in case the infected have reached here to." The reptile was the first to leave with Shadow following close behind. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea as they were also stood by the exit of the ship, each of them with their weapons in hand. Espio handed Charmy back his pistol and took out his dagger. Shadow only had his shotgun since he left both his pistols behind.

"I might have a problem here." Shadow pointed out as he held his gun in his one and only hand. Knuckles walked up to him and traded his hatchet for the hedgehog's shotgun. The echidna took a good look at his new weapon and glanced back at Shadow.

"This got any ammo?" He asked. Shadow grinned and shook his head, receiving an irritated growl from the red guardian. They were all certain that any infected would already be swarming the ship once they had landed, but once the door had opened; there wasn't a soul in sight. Knuckles ventured outside first. "Seems clear." He informed the others who soon joined him outside.

"Where do we go?" Shadow asked. He seemed impatient, but for a good reason. Knuckles gestured for everyone to follow.

"I can take us to the Master Emerald. I'd imagine that if anyone else was on the island, then that is where they would be." Knuckles explained, ignoring the nervousness of everyone else who wouldn't dare to think that they may be safe here. Despite the dire situation, Angel Island still looked untouched. The jungle they were walking through was lush and full of life. Trees towered above them as the sun's rays beamed down illuminating the many shades of green.

"Hey, Knux." Charmy spoke as if not noticing the tension in the silence.

"Hm?" Knuckles replied.

"How the hell does Angel Island not look like the rest of the world? Everywhere I've been, places are in ruin or burnt to a crisp." Shadow looked to the bee wondering how he read his mind. He knew it was just a pure coincidence, but couldn't help but find it a little strange.

"You can thank the Master Emerald for that. Not only does it keep this place floating, but it also keeps it alive." Charmy seemed fascinated by it as did everyone else, except for the hedgehog walking alone at the back of the group. Espio kept glancing back to him; he was close, yet so distant.

"How are you doing, Shadow?" The chameleon finally got the courage to ask. The hedgehog took a second to notice. He was so lost in thought that he forgot he was walking at all.

"I'm fine… just thinking." He said in a low voice. The ninja decided to wait for a second and walk alongside Shadow.

"About what?" Espio continued. The mammal sighed and spoke whilst watching the ground beneath him pass by.

"Can I get something off my chest?" Shadow asked. Espio nodded.

"Hey, we'll catch up in a second." The reptile told the others who acknowledged and kept on walking. "What is it?"

"I know I've been a little quiet, but I don't want you to worry. It's just I'm… a little scared." Shadow scratched his head before continuing. "If the worst does happen to me, then I need to know that you and Charms will be okay. I know you've changed a lot in the past few years; you even said that yourself, but I want to restore that strength in you." Using his one hand, Shadow got out his Chaos Emerald and handed it to the speechless chameleon. He then took off the shuriken star from around his neck and put it around Espio's.

"What if you're not infected?" The ninja asked with a very worried look. A smug grin appeared on the hedgehog as he spoke.

"Then you owe me a shuriken star and a Chaos Emerald." His grin turned into a smile. The hedgehog kissed the unsuspecting chameleon on the forehead before turning to walk away, but the ninja stopped him. Shadow turned back with a confused expression, but just as he was about to question, Espio's lips silenced his. Warmth filled his body; a sensation he had never felt before. The mammal was suddenly at his mercy as Espio pushed him up against a nearby tree. The ninja wrapped his arms around his neck while Shadow held onto the chameleon's waist. He had never been kissed before, but now realised why some people couldn't get enough of it. The kiss brought with it a sense of paradise he never knew was possible and he relished every moment. It was as if any questions over the past 10 years had been answered. He now knew that not only was the chameleon holding him the one he loved, but the one he would spend the rest his life with and the one he would die for. They remained locked in their kiss until Espio was the one to part it.

"Have you ever done that before?" Shadow couldn't help but ask. Espio blushed a little and avoided eye contact.

"Honestly… no." He said with embarrassment. Shadow laughed, he knew Espio embarrassed was cute, but even today he would never admit it.

"Me neither." Shadow admitted which restored the reptile's confidence. They stared at each other with lazy eyes for a few moments before getting back to reality. "We had better catch up to the others." Shadow said whilst stroking Espio's very red cheek.

"Do we have to?" Espio teased. Shadow laughed softly before giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Yeah, we do. Come on." The hedgehog held Espio's hand and they both walked the way the group had gone. They eventually came to a clearing where the Master Emerald altar was, but that wasn't all that was there. To their surprise, everyone was settled around a campfire with plates of food!

"What the fuck?" Shadow said a little too loud which got funny looks from everyone and an inappropriate giggle out of Espio. Shadow smiled at the ninja's rare playfulness before turning his attention back to everyone else.

"Hey!" A familiar voice yelled to the two.

"Ah crap." Shadow growled as he saw none other than Sonic approaching them. The blue blur was slightly taller and his fur was a little scruffy, something that suited him quite well. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed Espio and Shadow holding hands. The black hedgehog's characteristic smug grin returned. "What's the matter, Faker? Is there a problem?" Shadow asked. Espio fought to stop himself from bursting into laughter at Sonic's baffled face.

"It seems like I missed quite a few things." Sonic said. Tails came up behind him, noticing the slightly awkward situation.

"Don't mind him." Tails began. The now 18 year old had aged well. His fur had darkened into a warm gold and he was as tall as Sonic. "He'll adjust in no time, but anyway, congratulations you two! How did all this start?" Shadow and Espio glanced at each other with Shadow turning a little rosy.

"Uh, it's a long story." He told him and Tails nodded happily with understanding.

"Can I ask what happened to your arm?" Tails questioned. The black hedgehog saddened upon being reminded of his current uncertain future. Espio spoke for him instead.

"He was bitten and we weren't sure if he could be infected or not. So, to be on the safe side, Charmy cut it off." Tails turned in shock at Charmy who was oblivious to the conversation. The fox shook himself out of it and turned back to Espio. "Anyway, we're still unsure if he's infected, so that's why he's a bit down."

"I actually have a device that can scan for the infection. I can use it on Shadow to tell if he is infected or not, assuming you want to that is." Tails informed the pair. Both their jaws dropped, but Shadow couldn't help but ask a few questions.

"How do you have the materials for that?"

"Well, let's just say I don't have a plane anymore. I also turned the engine into a generator and the Chaos Emerald we have is now our only source of power." The fox explained. Shadow nodded since Tails answered both of his questions in one.

"Is your little machine accurate?" Shadow asked more out of nervousness than anything else.

"Yep! It takes a few minutes after scanning, but it hasn't been wrong so far." The fox was obviously proud of his device, but Shadow refused to completely cheer up until he had his answer.

"Alright, I'll do it." Shadow decided. He looked to Espio for some form of comfort, but his expression conveyed just as much worry. Before either could say a word, Cream came up and greeted both of them.

"Hello Mr. Shadow and Mr. Espio!" She sang happily. The duo both greeted the 16 year old rabbit. She was still a very positive character, even with the world being the way it was. If anyone was a ray of sunshine in the rain, then it would be Cream. Her pet Chao, Cheese, wasn't far behind either. Its usual light blue had turned whiter. Cream was a lot taller, almost as tall as Shadow. She no longer wore a dress and instead wore a pale blue t-shirt and black jeans. The Ultimate Lifeform glanced behind the rabbit to see Charmy with his jaw on the floor. He was about to sneak away until Espio noticed the same thing and called his name, deliberately getting Cream's attention. A split-second glare appeared on the bee's face as if to say 'I hate you guys' before greeting her with a smile as she hugged him tight.

"It's so good to see you again, Charmy! I almost thought you didn't make it after all these years!" Charmy was amazed she thought of him at all, he already knew that the rabbit often came up in his own mind.

"I kinda thought the same of you… no offence." Charmy blushed realising how bad that sounded, but Cream simply giggled it off.

"That's okay, but as you can see, I'm still around." The teen chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

"_Thank Chaos, she's as carefree as I remember."_ The bee thought.

"Anyway, I'm glad you two are here! Vector would be overjoyed." Cream told them. Charmy's face turned into a confused glare while Espio couldn't believe what he had just heard. Shadow took a step away from Espio out of nervousness. Both the hedgehog and the chameleon remembered why Vector had run off to begin with. The ninja noticed immediately Shadow's slight panic.

"It'll be okay. I'll have to talk to him." Espio said. Shadow exhaled and nodded.

"While you do that, I'll see if I'm going to live or die." The mammal said it so casually that it almost seemed like this was a day to day thing, but they both knew better.

"So Cream, where _is_ Vector?" Espio asked her. She pointed to a narrow path amongst the trees. It led to the edge of the island where a beach was located. She told the ninja that Vector was always sunbathing there; it was a spot where he could be alone.

Espio raised a brow at the crocodile's new behaviour patterns. Not once has he ever needed to be by himself, unless the world's situation had taken more of a toll on him than anyone thought. He looked back at Charmy before he went anywhere to see him looking very angry.

"_I'd better talk to him first."_ Espio thought as he approached him and Cream. As soon as he got close, Charmy began to vent.

"What the hell, Espio! He's been missing for 10 fucking years and all of a sudden we find out that he's been fine this entire time?! WHAT!?"

"Calm down, I know it's a lot to take in right now, but would you rather him dead?"

"Of course not, but I think he owes us a fucking good explanation." Charmy calmed himself a little bit, but there was no denying that he was pissed.

"I will get that explanation from him, alright? You stay here with Cream; I'll be back in a little while." Espio informed him before he began along the narrow path.

* * *

Just as the rabbit had told him, he came upon a clearing where sand had met the jungle border. In the middle, was a green crocodile basking in the sun with his head bobbing. He was obviously listening to music and completely oblivious that Espio was there, which made the chameleon feel a little less nervous. It wasn't until Espio was stood right next to him blocking the sun's rays that the larger reptile finally noticed him. He had to rub his eyes for fear that he was imagining the purple chameleon stood before him.

"This must be the first time you've been speechless, Vector." Espio grinned, but Vector was still in a state of shock.

"E-Espio? Is that you, pal?" The chameleon nodded and was nearly crushed by an overwhelming hug. "I've missed you so much! I thought you and Charmy were dead! Is Charmy here to?!" Vector was speaking so quick that Espio could barely understand him.

"Calm down, okay? Yes, Charmy is here. No, we're not dead and yes, we missed you to." Espio answered all in one. "But before you say anything else, I need to have a talk with you." Espio's voice suddenly became serious and Vector could tell.

"Uh, what is it?" Vector asked.

"Look, I'm just going to be honest with you. I know why you ran away all those years ago, Vector." Espio told him bluntly. The crocodile didn't expect him to bring it up and instantly shied away.

"Y-you do?" The green reptile stuttered.

"Yes, I do. Why couldn't you have just told me to begin with?"

"I was afraid, okay? I thought you were gonna hate me or treat me differently and besides, Charmy told me that you didn't like me in that way anyway." Vector explained.

"Do you… still feel that way?" Espio hesitated. He knew either way he would have to tell him about Shadow.

"I honestly thought you were dead, Es. I had to force myself to get over you. But part of me still wants to feel that way…"

"But, you don't?"

"…I don't know. You still mean the world to me Espio and I've honestly been lost without you." Vector was staring at the sand beneath him. Before he could think through his feelings, Espio knew he had to tell him now.

"I need to tell you something and you're not going to like it." Espio began. Vector nodded allowing the ninja to continue. "Way back when you first ran off, Charmy and I joined up with Shadow to look for you. I got drunk one night and… did something I'm not proud of. Anyway, after that, the cops came after me. Shadow helped us to avoid them and took us to the mountains. It was there that I realised that I liked him… a lot." The chameleon could see Vector sadden as he said it, but carried on anyway. "It wasn't until we got to the ARK that I told him and let's just say he didn't react well. Long story short, I left the ARK with only Charmy to find that the world was steadily going to hell. I really missed him during that time, despite how angry I was with him and myself for being so weak."

"You're not weak, Espio." Vector interrupted. Espio let out a small smile.

"Thank you, Vector." He then continued his story while the crocodile listened intently. "I didn't see Shadow for 10 years after that. I thought he had just stayed on the ARK until a few days ago when I ran into him in some woods. Apparently, he had been looking for me the whole time to tell me that he regretted everything and wanted me back. I, of course, didn't believe him at first, but he convinced me, probably easier than anyone else could have only because deep down I… still felt the same. So, I don't know how you feel about me Vector, but…" He starred Vector dead in the eyes. "I love Shadow."

"Are ya happy with him?" Vector asked. Espio was caught a little off-guard with the crocodile's question. It took him a few seconds, but it was an easy answer.

"Yes, I am happy with him." Espio told him. A very rare, genuine smile appeared on the croc.

"Then you, me and Shadow have no problems."

"R-really?" Espio stuttered. He honestly didn't expect Vector to take it this well; the ninja had a habit of expecting the worst.

"Of course, Espio! You're my best friend, hell you could even be my brother. This time apart has taught me a few things. One, don't fix what isn't broken and two, appreciate everything you have. Pal, I only want to see ya happy, whether it's with me or not and I mean that." A tear came to the chameleon's eye after hearing Vector's words. It was clear that he had grown up a lot in 10 years which made Espio very proud. They gave each other another hug and decided to return to the others. As soon as Vector and Charmy noticed one another, they tackled each other into a hug.

"_Charms must have calmed down from earlier."_ Espio thought. He turned to see Shadow sat on a wooden table, he seemed distant once again. Shadow didn't notice Espio to begin with until he walked up to him.

"Hey, Es." The black hedgehog greeted. Espio said the same in return and pecked him on the cheek. Shadow couldn't help but blush a little.

"I talked to Vector and we're in the clear, so to speak." A relieved sigh came from the hedgehog, but he still seemed distracted. "Has Tails done all he needed to?" The chameleon asked. Shadow nodded and looked to the floor. "Are you okay?" Shadow knew what he really meant by that and gave a deep sigh. Espio began to worry when Shadow wasn't answering him. "Sh-Shadow?" The hedgehog looked back up and stared Espio in the eyes. The ninja feared the worst yet again until a familiar grin made its presence known. "You bastard!" Espio joked as he playfully hit the hedgehog in the shoulder. "I was worried sick!" Shadow burst out laughing at the chameleon's reaction, but managed to calm himself before he spoke.

"Take it easy Es, I was only messing with you. On a more serious note, I'm going to be just fine and I can now promise you that I will never leave again." Shadow reassured him. Espio couldn't help but throw his arms around the hedgehog. Shadow was caught off-guard and nearly fell off the table. He got to his feet and hugged Espio with his one remaining arm.

"These belong to you." Espio said as he handed him back the Chaos Emerald and the shuriken star. The hedgehog happily took them before gently kissing Espio on the lips as a 'thank you'. "So, what about the rest of your arm?" Espio asked.

"Tails told me he had some spare parts that he didn't know what to do with, so he's going to attempt to make me a metal replacement." Shadow shrugged as he spoke. It seemed he was unsure of the idea just as Espio was. "So, on a completely separate subject, how much do you want to bet that those two are going to get together?" The hedgehog asked. Espio was unsure what Shadow was talking about until he followed his gaze to Charmy and Cream who were swapping stories and catching up.

"You aren't the first to think that." Jet spoke as him and the Rogues walked up to the duo.

"Seriously? You think the same thing?" Espio questioned.

"Yeah, everybody does. In fact, they all have a bet going for how long it'll take." Wave informed them. The pair chuckled.

"We'll get in on that. What's this bet even for?" Shadow asked.

"Uh, well, it's just for pieces of bread since money means nothing nowadays." Jet said slightly embarrassed. Shadow and Espio discussed it between themselves for about a minute until they were in agreement.

"4 days." The hedgehog told them. The three Rogues nodded.

"We thought maybe 6 days to a week, but it doesn't matter. We won't exactly be here to find out." Jet said. The other two looked a little confused.

"Why not?" Espio asked.

"We don't really like to settle and besides there may be others out there just like you who need help." Wave explained.

"But everyone seems to be here. Who else is there?" The chameleon wondered. Both Shadow and Espio couldn't think of anyone else, but Jet brought them out of thought.

"Well, we haven't seen that pink hedgehog who throws herself at Sonic all the time." The pair glanced at each other awkwardly. It was true that Amy wasn't there, but they couldn't conclude if she was alive or not.

"Anyway, will you guys ever come back?" Espio wondered changing the subject. They all smiled and nodded.

"Yeah sure, we'll come back at some point. You never know we may have more survivors." Wave chuckled. The chance wasn't high, but it wasn't impossible.

* * *

Later that day, the Babylon Rogues said their goodbyes and left the island on board their airship. Everyone gathered to see them off until they disappeared into the distance. Omega decided to fire bullets in the air to imitate fireworks, but all it really did was frighten everyone half to death and waste valuable ammo.

"You know, Shad; I'm going to miss them." Espio admitted with a small grin.

"Hmph yeah, I guess I will to. They saved my ass twice after all." Shadow seemed a little embarrassed, but was grateful nonetheless.

Three days after arriving on Angel Island, Charmy admitted his feelings for Cream and she, of course, felt the same way. Everyone was happy for them with the only catch being that no one guessed correctly. Espio was proud of Charmy for being 'brave' and he wasn't sure if it was a trait he'd picked up from the ninja himself or Shadow. Of course, the pair had no idea that Shadow and Espio were both spying on them.

"This is by far the creepiest thing we have ever done." Espio whispered.

"Well, it's about as 'ninja' as it's going to get, so you'd better get used to it." Shadow told him.

"True, it's nice doing this with you though."

"…I now understand the creepiness. Can we go now?" Shadow asked. Espio chuckled under his breath.

"Sure, we got what we came for." They both nodded and silently crept away leaving the new couple be.

* * *

_**1 Year Later...**_

* * *

The weather was still as sunny as the many days before it. No one could remember the last time it rained. They would've been gone long before now if it wasn't for the Master Emerald.

Shadow was stood on 'Vector's Beach', which was what everyone seemed to call it since Vector sat there almost every day. It had an amazing view of the ocean underneath while the sun would extend its rays upon the liquid surface every morning. It was the break of dawn and the black hedgehog was stood with his arms folded watching the sun rise whilst glancing at the new addition to his left hand. Espio was in a tree behind him relaxing doing the same thing with the other arm behind his head. They would sit here every morning before everyone else got up; it was a daily reminder of how good it was to be alive.

"It looks good on you." The ninja complimented. Shadow blushed and turned to look up at him.

"Likewise to you." He replied. "I still can't believe I got through it without passing out. How were you so calm?" Shadow asked, the chameleon simply chuckled.

"I was just as nervous as you; I just covered it up a little better." Espio said proudly while Shadow shook his head and rolled his eyes. "It was worth it to you though, right?" Shadow looked at him, surprised he even asked that question at all.

"Are you serious? Of course it was. Yeah, it may have been one of the most terrifying things I have ever done in my life, but now I'm stood here with the only chameleon I am ever going to need and these rings prove it." Shadow looked him in the eyes and gave a reassuring smile. The reptile hopped down from his branch and kissed his still blushing hedgehog companion on the cheek. Shadow stroked the side of Espio's face in return with his new metal arm. He was getting used to it more each day, but it still amazed him how it worked so seamlessly.

"How the hell you can you be comfortable on a branch like that anyway?" Shadow asked honestly once the heat in his cheeks got a little too overwhelming. A chuckle escaped the chameleon; it was nice to see Shadow relaxed. While the trait was rare, it was one that suited him.

"It's more comfortable than it looks. Besides, it keeps the sun off me." Espio told him. The hedgehog sighed.

"I still don't understand, Vector can take it, but you can't?" Shadow complained.

"I don't understand it either. Maybe it's because I'm smaller or because he has scales that can deflect bullets, but I can't be certain." Espio leaned his head on Shadow's shoulder and mimicked his sigh. The heat wave that started over 11 years ago was still going strong and the daytime always got too much for the chameleon. He was forced to spend the days in a nearby cave while everyone else did their daily routines.

Shadow would always have to do his part on the farms just as everybody else did, but once his job was done, the rest of his day would be spent sat with Espio. The chameleon tried to teach him how to meditate, but the hedgehog couldn't get a grasp of it. In return, Shadow would teach Espio about his Chaos powers like he said he would back in the mountain range. He even gave the ninja his emerald to see if he could use any of his powers. Each attempt ended in failure, so they came to the conclusion that it was a 'hedgehog thing'.

Silver and Blaze also tied the knot a few months before. Tails acted as the minister for both of them and even made the rings. Charmy and Cream were getting along really well. Everyone even threw a surprise party for their 1 year anniversary. They hadn't seen or heard from the Babylon Rogues at all which could've been both a good and bad sign, but it's not as if anyone could do anything about it. It was a time of peace which each and every one of them cherished.

_Until now…_

* * *

A new day was just beginning and people were just starting to awaken. Espio and Shadow were saying their temporary goodbyes until he came to see him in the cave later on, but just as they were about to separate, Charmy came running up to them.

"You guys! You have got to come see this!" Charmy said quickly in a panic, but before either of them could question the bee's odd behaviour, he ran back towards the camp. They both followed swiftly to see everyone gathered around something. Upon getting a closer look, this 'something' turned out to be 'someone'!

Wave the Swallow. She was in a traumatised state as she was barely able to stand or create words. Knuckles was trying his best to calm her down enough to speak, it took a few minutes, but she managed to get it together.

"What happened?" Sonic was the first to ask.

"We were cruising the skies just fine until all of a sudden one of the engines malfunctioned. Before I could go and see what was wrong, Jet yelled that he was losing control of the ship. It felt like only seconds before we crashed into the horde that was already waiting for us. I was about to get eaten by one of them until Jet killed it with his board only to be jumped on by two others." Floods of tears began to fall, but she was determined to finish her gruesome tale. "He was screaming at me to get out of there and I just didn't think. I grabbed the emerald, got on my board and flew off without looking back." She was crying hard into Knuckles' shoulder as everyone looked around in disbelief.

"What about Storm?" Tails asked this time, but Wave only shook her head.

"I let them die! I just left them!" She repeated over and over. Knuckles took her away from the camp to calm her down while the others were left to think about what just happened. Shadow looked next to him to see that Espio wasn't there. The hedgehog walked to his cave while everybody else was talking and as expected, he was sat at the back of his cave staring at the ground. Shadow knelt down in front of him, but didn't say anything, neither did Espio. He simply pulled him in for a hug. He felt the chameleon snuggle into his shoulder and kissed him on the head. Espio blushed, but Shadow didn't see it.

* * *

Everyone was on edge for the rest of the day as they got work done. Knuckles had joined them since Wave wanted to be alone for the day. Oddly, the uncertainty kept them all focused which made the day pass quickly.

The sky was a navy blue and everyone was sitting around the campfire that Blaze had reignited. Shadow and Espio joined them a little later.

"Alright..." Charmy began breaking the tense silence. "Now that we're all sat here, maybe we should talk about this. What in Chaos brought down their ship? Engines don't fail for no reason." Everyone was silent at first.

"Especially when they run on Chaos energy." Shadow added. "But we'll never know the answer to that." He finished.

"It was a miracle that she wasn't bitten." Silver spoke up. Everyone agreed and then saddened when they remembered why.

"Poor Jet and Storm." Cream said. Charmy put his arm around her and kissed her on the head.

"Jet was really brave for doing that." Charmy added. "He must have really cared for her."

"You think he… you know." Sonic wondered.

"Maybe, they've been best friends for a long time, but who knows." Tails commented. The entire group went silent when rustling could be heard in the bushes. In a split second, Wave came charging at them.

"Shit!" Charmy yelled as he grabbed Cream in his arms and flew upwards, avoiding the potential of being bitten. Vector slammed her to the ground using his tail giving enough time for Charmy to pull out his pistol and fire a clean headshot.

"How the- was she bitten?!" Knuckles stuttered, incredibly confused. Tails had a look at her, but no blood or bite marks were present. He went to get the same scanner he once used on Shadow to see if he could figure out how Wave got infected. The group waited anxiously for a few minutes until Tails came back, his face was visibly pale which caused concern.

"What is it, buddy?" Sonic asked him.

"She got infected via inhalation. It was airborne." Tails told them.

"What the hell?!" Charmy shouted. "It was airborne anyway! How did it affect Wave when she wasn't human?!" Cream tugged on his arm and asked him to calm down. The bee could see that he was upsetting her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, it's just I don't want anything happening to you." She kissed him gently on the lips and nodded with understanding. Espio turned his attention from Charmy to Shadow. He was deep in thought.

"What is it?" Espio asked the hedgehog. He glanced back at the chameleon before turning to Tails.

"Tails, could you get a sample of the fungi and take a look at it?" Shadow asked. Tails nodded.

"Good idea, I brought my microscope from my old lab and haven't had a chance to use it yet." The fox told them as he went to set it up. He came back to Wave and scraped some of the fungus off of the back of her mouth. Once he had a good enough sample, he took it back to his microscope and studied it carefully. The others sat back down around the campfire and tried their best to relax.

"No… this is crazy." Tails muttered from his makeshift lab.

"Tails?" Sonic asked getting the fox's attention.

"This stuff is moving around, meaning that it can't be a fungus." The fox teen explained. "It's a living organism!" Everyone collectively gasped except for Shadow who seemed to be angry rather than surprised.

"So, that explains it." Shadow muttered to himself not expecting anyone to hear.

"Explains what?" Espio questioned. The hedgehog quickly looked up at him, but then decided to tell him.

"Charmy, Omega, the Rogues and I had to take on this huge horde once. Omega was doing far better than the rest of us; he was tearing them up like no tomorrow and the infected knew it. They all piled up on him and ignored the rest of us, regardless of the fact that he is entirely metal. They're intelligent Es, and they're learning." Espio and everyone else were speechless.

"He's right…" Tails added. "…And the worst part is that they're learning or have learnt how to infect Mobians."

"So, we're all fucked, is that it?" Knuckles said bluntly yet everyone else couldn't argue. "We could all be infected right now!"

"Would you calm down? You're not exactly helping." Shadow said sternly. The echidna did as he was told and sat back down in a huff.

"So, what do we do?" The guardian asked.

"There's nothing we can do for now. We should just try and get some rest and figure this all out tomorrow." Shadow told him. To his surprise they all obeyed him, allowing the hedgehog to feel quite proud of himself for a few seconds.

"Does that go for me to?" Espio teased. A sly grin appeared on the mammal as he suddenly swept the unsuspecting chameleon off his feet and carried him away from the others.

"You had better keep it down this time." Shadow playfully warned. Espio went a bright red, but continued to mess with him.

"And if I don't?" he teased further. Shadow's grin only widened.

"Then you will be severely punished." He whispered in a low voice, sending shivers through the ninja's spine. Shadow then rushed off, taking Espio with him.


	13. Unnecessary Evil

**Hello again! It's 6am, so I'm pretty tired, but it is always worth it to get a chapter out for you!**

**I would like to personally thank some people for being awesome and supporting this story! I read your reviews all the time and they always make me smile! :)**

**Mormar1 – You have been there since Chapter 1 and you still continue to support this story, even when chapters are a little slower. Massive thanks to you for all your kind words! I hope I can keep entertaining you with more chapters in the future!**

**Espiosbutt – I love how hyped up you got, especially when Shadow and Espio found each other, mormar1 as well (I, too, was very hyped). Your reviews make me chuckle and I really appreciate the support!**

**Pete2DSM2 – Thank you for giving me encouragement when things have been rough. You helped me both with this story, whether it's suggesting ideas or pointing out errors and in life, cheering me up and helping get the next chapter finished. I'm glad you're as hyped over Shadpio as I am!**

**I also can't forget ND4SPDMW11 and miguelisasir for your reviews which also made my day! Thank you!**

**So, without further ado, here's Chapter 13! Enjoy!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

It was late into the night. The moon left an eerie glow upon the water's surface and the island that was suspended above it. Within this island was a cave which was basic in structure. Rocks formed the walls and roof while soft grass made up the floor. Upon this floor, lay a black hedgehog lost in his consciousness. He was dreaming of one thing; one thing so vastly important to him that he couldn't dream of anything else even if he wanted to.

_Espio._

Just being near the purple chameleon gave him an eternal peace that no other being could provide. He was undoubtedly his everything, but chills dared to disturb his paradise; chills that would normally be shielded by his lover's arms. His eyes opened realising that something was different. Memories of a few hours before replayed themselves in the hedgehog's mind. He blushed madly before forcing himself to focus on his surroundings. Espio was nowhere to be seen. Shadow rubbed his eyes and got up.

"Es?" He groaned in a tired voice. The night air was warm, but not uncomfortable. Shadow looked around the outside of the cave, but it wielded the same results. His body stretched and he let out a satisfied sigh before heading to the main camp. Everyone else was asleep and the sight of Charmy and Cream in each other's arms was enough to make anyone smile. Being certain that the ninja wasn't here, Shadow made his way to Vector's Beach. A silhouette was stood on the edge of the island looking up at the sky. The hedgehog already knew who it was and calmly walked up to him. Espio needn't look back, he already knew who was approaching, yet stayed silent. Shadow stood beside him and folded his arms, allowing his gaze to follow Espio's. The moon was full and lit up everything around them. Stars surrounded it and allowed their mind's to make them see shapes and faces. They stood there for a few minutes appreciating the harmonic silence until Shadow remembered why he was here to begin with.

"Are you okay?" He asked simply. The chameleon exhaled before he spoke, his voice seemed just as tired.

"I just uh… couldn't sleep, that's all." Espio stuttered. The hedgehog glanced at him.

"You're a hell of a lot easier to read when you're half-awake, you know that? So, what's really going on?" He asked him again. This time he told the truth.

"I kept having nightmares." He told the hedgehog.

"About what?" Shadow questioned obviously expecting more detail. The ninja let out a shaken sigh, whatever it was had affected him to some extent.

"About everyone suddenly becoming… one of them and I was the only one left." The ninja shook and Shadow caught sight of it immediately.

"It was just a nightmare, Es. It wasn't real-"

"But it could be." The reptile quickly replied. "If this 'thing' really can infect us like you and Tails say it can, then… I don't know what I'm going to do." Shadow raised a brow at his words.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I saw Charmy infected. His eyes were blank and he was making the most disturbing noises. I was frozen, I couldn't move and I could feel myself slowly breaking within my mind. It just made me realise that if that were to really happen, then I'm afraid of what I might do." Espio explained to the now concerned hedgehog.

"You would still have me, Espio. I would be there 24/7 to be your shoulder to cry on, your punch bag, whatever you needed to get through it." Shadow kept his eyes on the ninja who was now sat on the sand.

"I'm scared, Shadow…" He admitted in a shaken voice. "…I'm really scared this time." The hedgehog pulled Espio close to him and kissed him gently on the head.

"I know." Shadow whispered. Neither of them said another word for the rest of the night. The mammal glanced down at him to see that he had fallen asleep. As carefully as he could, Shadow picked him up and carried him back to the cave. Once there, he placed him on the grass and laid down next to him. His arms kept the chameleon close before the hedgehog was tired enough to fall back asleep.

* * *

Neither Shadow nor Espio were awake at dawn the next morning. The hedgehog awoke when the sun was already beaming its unbearable rays upon the planet. Espio was still in a deep sleep, so the black mammal decided it was best to let him rest till later. The atmosphere was polar opposite from the day before where everyone was focused on getting work done in order to distract them. Today, everyone seemed slow and lacking motivation. Shadow sighed knowing it was going to be a long day, especially with the lack of sleep.

"You're up a little later today, Shads." Sonic began as he walked up to him. The one in black simply rolled his eyes and huffed. "Everything alright?" The blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs up. Whilst many saw Sonic as a positive character, Shadow simply saw him as cocky and immature.

"Keep your nose out of it, Faker. I am in no mood." Shadow growled causing Sonic to take a step back out of intimidation.

"Ok, ok, sorry Shads." He spoke a little quicker this time, but soon shook it off. "I'll be seein' ya!" He smiled before returning to what he was previously doing.

Shadow sighed loudly before getting on with his daily routine. He finished everything he needed to first and decided to help the others. It took up more of his time and it was dusk before everyone could somewhat relax. Espio had remained in his cave for the entire day and people were beginning to question, but the hedgehog shrugged them all off and went to check on him. As he walked through the vast jungle, something caught his attention. Something was sat in the middle of the trees; it was a pale colour which made it stand out and look out of place. Shadow went closer to see what it was, but was surprised to see that it was none other than Cream. She was sitting on her own with her arms around her knees. The hedgehog could hear her whimpering, which certainly caused some concern.

"Cream?" Shadow began, hoping not to scare her as he approached from behind. She was startled to begin with, but soon calmed realising that it was Shadow's voice she heard.

"Hello, Mr. Shadow." She replied without turning around.

"What's wrong?" The hedgehog asked. Cream sighed heavily. Her voice was shaken.

"Charmy and I had a fight." She told him. Shadow was shocked at first; it was obvious that this wasn't just a small disagreement by Cream's behaviour.

"What was it about?"

"He was all worked up after finding out that Mobian's were no longer immune, so I was trying to calm him down. He took it all the wrong way and just got angrier. I've never seen him like that before. I knew he'd changed, but I just didn't think he was this… violent." Shadow raised a brow. They all knew he was violent, and he needed to be in order to survive, they all did.

"Violent?" The mammal questioned. Cream didn't say anything else and finally turned to face Shadow. A look of horror appeared on the hedgehog in an instant. A black eye was clear even in the darkness.

"Did… he?" Shadow couldn't finish his sentence as Cream nodded. She suddenly burst into tears and began to beg.

"Please don't say anything Mr. Shadow! I don't want him to get angry again!" She pleaded. The hedgehog knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What did he say to you?" He asked calmly. It took a minute, but she managed to calm herself enough to speak.

"If I ever told anyone what he did, then he would come back and do so much worse." Her voice became a whisper; she was terrified in case Charmy was near. Shadow reassured her and gave her a hug.

"You don't have to worry about a thing; I'll deal with the bee. Do you understand?" He said with an edge to his voice. Cream nodded. "It would be best if you kept this from Espio. He's the one that will go ballistic." Shadow told her before making his way back to camp. Everyone seemed to be calmer from earlier and the atmosphere was pleasant. The fire gave a warming red glow and made everyone oblivious to the darker situation that had shown itself.

"Any of you guys seen Charmy?" Shadow asked getting everybody's attention. Each of them shook their heads causing Shadow to sigh loudly.

"Why?" Silver asked. Shadow had to think for a second, he couldn't tell them the truth because they would all overreact.

"I just need to talk to him." He answered flatly. The others didn't seem all that bothered after that. As if checking to see if he was a terrorist and getting bored once finding out he was innocent.

Shadow searched everywhere he could, but to no avail. He then remembered about checking up on Espio, which meant he would have to go back through camp. Just as he got there, he saw Tails talking to everyone with an annoyed look.

"Oh, Shadow, hey!" The fox greeted him. "Have you by any chance seen Wave's Extreme Gear? Knuckles told me that she'd left it at a clearing near the edge of the island, but when I checked there, it had gone." Shadow thought about it for a second, but didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

"What did it look like again?" He asked.

"It's pink and purple with orange in the centre. It was modified to hold a Chaos Emerald in the back as a 'fuel' source." Knuckles informed him.

"No, I haven't seen it, but I can keep an eye out." Tails smiled and thanked him before the hedgehog set off. He returned to Cream to ask where Charmy had gone after the 'incident'. She pointed in the direction he ran off in and Shadow followed. He ended up on the edge of the island where there was a clearing in the trees, exactly what Tail's had described earlier on.

"_That little bastard."_ Shadow thought angrily.

"What are you doing out here?" A familiar deep voice said to the hedgehog. He knew who it was, no other voice could make Shadow's heart race. The chameleon walked up next to him and ran his fingers through the mammal's fur causing him to purr with content. Espio had a sly grin at the temporary control he had over him. As soon as he stopped, Shadow looked over at him with lazy eyes and grinned.

"I'm guessing you feel better." Shadow spoke, still with the same purr in his voice.

"I guess. Just needed some sleep to get my head together." Espio folded his arms just like Shadow and stared into the distance. "You didn't answer me." Espio reminded him.

"I was looking for Charmy." The hedgehog told him. Espio nodded.

"What for?" The chameleon asked. Shadow silently began to panic. He knew the ninja would overreact more than anyone else because of his mental state, but he couldn't just stand there and lie to his face. He stayed quiet hoping that Espio would somehow forget in the next five seconds. He didn't. "Shadow?"

"If I tell you, then can you at least promise you won't 'go crazy'?" The chameleon gave him a weird look, but nodded nonetheless. "He and Cream got into an argument and Charmy got a little bit too angry and well he… punched her." Espio took a step backwards out of shock; a strong glare clear on his face.

"Where is he?" The ninja growled.

"Forget it, he stole Wave's Extreme Gear and ran." Shadow told him.

"Wha-what?" Espio's voice suddenly became a whisper. His glare turned into a look of concern.

"Sorry, Es." Shadow was unsure on how to comfort the chameleon since he had never been in a situation like this before.

"It's not your fault, it's mine."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked, surprised Espio would say that at all. The reptile sat on the edge of the island and Shadow sat next to him.

"You were right the whole time, Shad. He's a weapon, raised around violence his entire life. I should've seen it coming." Shadow didn't know what to say and allowed the chameleon to continue. "Think about it, his family was killed and his home was destroyed at a very young age. He then found Vector, who isn't exactly a gentle croc and he found me, an expert ninja. He saw you, the Ultimate Lifeform who was once hell-bent on human destruction, a role model. From the age of six, he was raised to kill anything that moves. While we all saw it as survival, he saw it as normal. Remember when I told him about killing Rouge? How did he react?"

"He laughed…" Shadow whispered. "…But you raised him the best you could."

"My 'best' is deadly, Shadow." The hedgehog couldn't respond and simply sat there awkwardly until Espio spoke again. "I'll be in my cave, I need to be alone." Espio slowly walked away and while Shadow wanted to stop him, he knew he needed some space. The hedgehog stayed put for at least another hour trying to clear his head before returning to Espio's cave to sleep.

* * *

New problems had already popped up before the sun could rise. Shadow and Espio were awake at their usual time, but were quickly halted by everyone as soon as they entered the camp.

"What is it now?" Shadow asked making sure his irritation was clear. He was still a little tired and had a shorter fuse than normal.

"Where's the Chaos Emerald?!" Tails demanded. The pair both glared back at the fox who was clearly intimidated, but still held his ground.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shadow growled.

"The Chaos Emerald in the generator, it's gone!" The fox yelled.

"I see, and you think we took it?" Espio assumed.

"No, we think you know who did." Sonic said calmly trying to halt the aggressive atmosphere.

"You're not wrong there." Shadow told him earning a surprised look from Espio.

"So?" Tails asked expectantly. Shadow then explained the Charmy and Cream situation and how the bee ran off with Wave's Extreme Gear.

"He must've taken the emerald while we were all asleep." Shadow finished. A tense silence surrounded the group as they took in this new information. At that moment, Cream made her way out of the jungle after falling asleep there the night before.

"Are you alright?" Sonic asked her. She simply nodded and sat down.

"What are we going to do for power?" Tails asked in a now calmer voice.

"I still have an emerald." Shadow told him.

"But, you need that emerald for your Chaos powers." Espio said with concern, fearing that the hedgehog would be a lot more vulnerable without it.

"I know, but we need the power more."

"What if Charmy takes this one to?" Tails questioned further.

"We simply have someone to guard it. Now, who out of all of us doesn't need sleep, food or bathroom breaks?" Shadow grinned and nodded his head in the direction of a certain robot. Omega had been stood at the back of the group the entire time and made several of them jump forgetting he was there.

"That's a plan, I guess. You up for it, Omega?" Sonic asked with his usual smirk.

"Affirmative." He replied. "Are weapons permitted?" The robot asked. Shadow glanced at Espio who had turned a little pale and was breathing quickly. The entire group was staring at Shadow who was also a little nervous, but forced himself to fight through it.

"Yes, Omega." He soon answered.

"Sha-Shadow?!" Espio panicked.

"I'm sorry, Espio, but we don't have a choice. Charmy is our enemy now." Shadow's voice was stern and strong. He didn't want to hurt Espio, but he had to get the message through. The chameleon's face looked devastated, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he walked depressingly back to his cave. Shadow sighed heavily and looked to the floor.

"Will he be alright?" Vector perked up.

"He's just taking all of this a little hard." Shadow said with very little energy. "Just give him some time." The hedgehog wanted to be alone, so he made his way to Vector's Beach where he sat on the edge with one leg dangling down. His gaze was at the water beneath him and he slowly looked up until a large, green cloud caught his eye. The wind was blowing in his direction, which meant the cloud was also coming this way. Shadow got to his feet and stared intently. He knew it wasn't anything like smoke because of the colour. He remembered way back to when he and Omega were still in the city. The vegetation that had thrived was giving off thousands of spores, making the city become engulfed in an olive green mist. This was no mist; it was a cloud of solid green, meaning that there weren't thousands, but millions being carried by the off-shore winds towards Angel Island.

"Here we go again." Shadow growled to himself before hurrying back to camp.


	14. Sacrifice Counts

**I'm back again!**

**I managed to get another chapter done before the college assignments hit full-force. Anyway, since the intro was really long in the last chapter, I'll keep it brief in this one.**

**I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

Shadow returned to camp as fast as he could; he even tripped over one of the roots that were sticking out of the ground. As soon as he arrived, he explained the situation to everyone except for Espio and Cream who weren't there.

"Where did Cream go?" The black hedgehog asked.

"She said she was taking a walk for a little while. We can find her in a bit, but for now, we need a plan." Sonic told him.

"I can take us all to the ARK." Shadow stated. Everyone looked around seeming unsure of Shadow's plan, yet they couldn't argue because it was the only plan they had.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Sonic asked seeming genuinely concerned. "There are ten of us, including you."

"We'll have to find out, won't we? It's not like there is any other option." Sonic nodded in agreement and everyone began packing things that they deemed necessary.

* * *

Meanwhile in Espio's cave, Cream was sat next to the depressed chameleon. They were both catching up and venting problems they had.

"Then, what happened?" Espio asked the saddened rabbit.

"I didn't really get much of a say. I wanted her to get onto Mr. Tails' plane, but she told me that I had my whole life left and all of that stuff. One thing I will never forget, is watching my mother disappear from view as we flew away." Tears began to fall as Cream remembered having to leave her mother behind. Tails' plane was already at full capacity and could only manage one more passenger.

"I can't imagine what you must have been through. I am sorry, Cream." Espio said to reassure her.

"I just wish she was here. She somehow knew what to do, no matter what the situation. I remember begging Mr. Tails to go back, but we both knew that it would've been too late and too dangerous if we did." She then chuckled for reasons Espio didn't know until she continued. "The weird thing is that my mother would always tease me about Charmy every time I got home after being with him for the day. I would always respond with 'ew, no, he's my friend!" and laugh nervously about it because I was embarrassed." Espio now chuckled as he remembered similar events.

"Vector and I would do the same thing. He would always get home with this massive smile on his face until we ripped into him like there was no tomorrow. He would go bright red and throw a strop before he flew to his room and slammed the door. It was cruel, but we got a kick out of it." They both cheered up talking about pleasant memories.

"What was life like for him? I mean before and during all of this, because I remember he would never hurt anyone, but now he would gladly hurt those close to him." Cream cringed a little remembering about her black eye. Espio sighed knowing that Charmy had a rough upbringing, but felt it was best that Cream knew about it in the hope that she would understand as much as he did.

"It was never easy for him. Whenever he did something he wasn't supposed to, Vector would just yell at him. He would always fly off and hide and Vector would never be able to find him. I, however, would always know where he had gone. I'd always find him sat on the roof watching the sun set. I wouldn't yell or get angry at him; we would simply talk it through until Vector had dozed off at his desk, allowing Charmy to go his room without being harassed again. This one time, I was woken up by crying, I realised it was Charmy, so I got up and went to his room, but he wasn't there. The only other place I could think of was the roof, so I climbed out of my window and there he was."

"Why was he crying?" Cream asked.

"At first he said he didn't know, but then he said it was because he was misunderstood. A response that honestly shocked me." Espio sighed. "I know Charmy is still the little guy he was 11 years ago, he's just too busy proving everyone else wrong. He's proved and still proving that he is not the 'annoying, little kid' everyone thinks he is."

"I hope he's okay." Cream said earning her a surprised look from Espio as if to say 'Really?' "I know it sounds a bit weird coming from me, but even after what he did, it's not like I can just stop loving him in an instant." A small smile appeared on the rabbit's face just as it did with Espio. "If Shadow were to attack you, would you stop loving him?" Espio was caught by surprise; boldness wasn't exactly common for Cream. He had to think about it for a few moments.

"I wish I could answer that, but my head is shrouded by problems that I might say something I'll regret." Espio's voice was monotone; it was obvious that the chameleon was struggling. Something at the entrance of the cave caught both their attention. Shadow was stood there with a serious expression upon his face.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked calmly. Espio turned away while Cream answered for him.

"Not at all. Is everything okay, Mr. Shadow?" Cream said politely. The chameleon next to her was amazed at how tolerant she was. She could be in the worst situation and still be as polite as a saint to others. Espio couldn't deny that he missed having that sort of patience; it was something that had been worn down a lot in the past 11 years.

"Actually no, we're all leaving for the ARK." He told them bluntly.

"What?!" They both exclaimed.

"Spores are heading towards the island; I'm assuming they've been blown from the coastal cities. So, I'm taking everyone to the ARK."

"Oh, fucking perfect!" Espio yelled before covering his face with one hand.

"I'll leave you two alone." Cream decided realising that they both needed some space. Shadow thanked her and turned his full attention to Espio.

"Espio, are you alright?" Shadow began but the chameleon snapped at him.

"No! I'm not fucking alright!"

"Whoa! Take it easy! What's wrong?"

"Don't play dumb, Shadow! First, you basically order Omega to kill Charmy on sight and now, we suddenly have to leave because of this fucking infection! What about Charmy?! You think I'm just going to leave him here?!"

"It's not like we have a choice here, Es! Charmy isn't even here anymore and there is nothing I can do about that!" Shadow tried to be patient, but their time was limited. "Come on, I'm taking you to the ARK." He said sternly before he turned to leave.

"And what if I don't want to? Or do I always have to do what you tell me to?" Espio said in a sudden calm voice. Shadow slowly turned around with a very harsh glare upon him.

"I'm trying to save your fucking life here!" The hedgehog snapped.

"Well, go save someone who actually wants to be saved, alright?!" The chameleon snapped back. Shadow knew yelling at him wouldn't make the situation any better. He calmed himself and tried again.

"Look, I'm taking everyone to the ARK." He paused as he knew he had to ask a question he really didn't want to. "Are you coming or not?" Espio didn't need to think and simply glared back at Shadow as he answered.

"No." The chameleon growled in a low voice. Shadow was stunned and couldn't believe he had just heard that. He had to fight the urge to burst into a fit of rage and into tears at the same time. The hedgehog simply didn't know what else to do and Espio's face told him that he had made up his mind.

"B-but-"

"You heard me. I said no."

"Fine." He finished before leaving Espio alone.

* * *

Everyone was talking about their new situation and working things out when they all noticed Shadow return.

"Are you all ready?" His voice was noticeably different. It sounded monotone and weak, as if he was about to break down there and then.

"We're all good." Sonic spoke. "But, where's Espio?" Shadow cringed at the question, but answered honestly.

"He's not coming."

"What?! Shadow, you can't just leave him here!" Sonic ordered, but the black hedgehog was in just the right mood to silence the blue fur ball. In an instant, Shadow had grabbed Sonic by the neck and pinned him to a tree to the point where his feet were no longer touching the ground.

"Why the fuck not, huh?! Because you fucking say so?!" Shadow yelled in his face. Knuckles and Vector had to pull Shadow off of him. The blue hedgehog fell to the ground in a coughing fit trying to catch his breath. Tails ran to help Sonic up, but he told him he was okay.

"Calm down, Shadow!" Knuckles kept telling him. The black mammal was a lot stronger with his metallic arm and nearly knocked Vector out in a single hit. Knuckles managed to get Shadow to the floor and bend his left arm backwards. The Ultimate Lifeform instantly froze as soon as he realised what he was doing. "Now then, you are going to take it easy or I'm going to snap your arm, understand?" The hedgehog growled at him, but nodded without saying another word. Knuckles let him go and he swiftly got himself up; rubbing his arm from the strain.

"So… should we get going?" Silver asked awkwardly, hoping to change the subject. Everyone nodded, even Shadow. "How is this going to work?"

"If two of you hold on to me then two more hold on to them and so on, I should be able to take all of you up at once." Shadow informed them. Tails gave him back the Chaos Emerald from before and held onto Sonic. Shadow looked to make sure everyone was holding on and felt himself well up seeing that Espio wasn't there.

"…Chaos Control." He said depressingly causing everyone to be sent to the ARK.

* * *

Nothing had changed, even in 11 years. The metal still echoed every footstep that walked upon it and the planet below was as clear as the heat wave that reigned over it. A thud was heard as soon as they all had landed. Several gasps escaped as they saw Shadow on the floor panting heavily.

"Mr. Shadow! Are you okay?" Cream knelt down next to him.

"I'm fine… just never… taken this many people… at once before." He struggled to talk and couldn't get up out of exhaustion.

"Save your strength." Cream told him.

"But… I…" He couldn't finish his sentence as he passed out instantly.

"We should take him somewhere, so he can rest." Cream suggested. Sonic ran around the ARK and quickly found the sleeping quarters. Knuckles and Vector followed Sonic whilst carrying Shadow and placed him on one of the beds before returning to the observation deck. Omega stayed in the room with him until he woke up twenty minutes later.

"What happened?" He asked whilst recognising the room around him.

"You passed out from bringing everyone here." Omega told him. Shadow suddenly began to panic as he remembered leaving Espio behind.

"How long has it been?!"

"Twenty minutes." Shadow immediately leapt off of the bed and rushed to the observation deck.

"Hey Shadow, what's the matter?" Vector asked who was stood at the window. His voice seemed cold for obvious reasons.

"No time for that. I need to get back to Angel Island."

"Finally smelt the coffee then, did ya?" Vector remarked, but Shadow ignored it to avoid getting into another fight.

"But, Shadow we need that emerald for power!" Tails panicked.

"The ARK can get energy from the sun; you'll only be out of power at night." Shadow replied quickly as he got the emerald out of the generator.

"What are you going to do once you get down there?" Vector questioned.

"Get Espio and Charmy up here."

"Wait, Charmy to?! Do you remember what he did?!" Tails questioned angrily.

"You guys are just going to have to get over it! If Charmy doesn't come up here, then Espio won't either! Which outcome would you prefer?!" Shadow snapped at him. Tails was silent and nodded.

"What if the spores are already there? You still don't know if you can get infected or not." Blaze reminded him. Sonic perked up.

"Oh, wait! That reminds me!" He said excitedly before running off and returning in under three seconds. "This should be able to shield you from the spores." The blue blur told him as he handed over a gas mask.

"Okay, I know this place like you know chilli dogs. Where the fuck did you find that?"

"These things are everywhere. I just assumed they were for when experiments went wrong or something." Sonic told him. "Anyway, good luck, Shadow… seriously." The blue hedgehog unexpectedly hugged the black one. Shadow was surprised at first, but a small grin soon appeared as he hugged Sonic in return.

"Thank you… Sonic." A warm smile was on both hedgehogs as they separated. Everyone else also wished the Ultimate Lifeform luck, which gave him a huge confidence boost before he vanished into thin air.

* * *

Shadow was terrified that the island would be contaminated with green death by the time he had got there. While the spores were a lot closer, Angel Island was still clean. The mammal wasted no time in hurrying to Espio's cave, even if he was a little unsteady on his feet, only to find that he wasn't there.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Shadow yelled in frustration. "Espio! Charmy!" He called as he frantically searched the island. The camp, Vector's Beach and anywhere else he could think of, were all empty. Suddenly, a light caught the hedgehog's attention. His Chaos Emerald was glowing, which was something it only did when another emerald was nearby. Shadow quickly looked around, but to no avail until he looked up. A hover board was floating there with a bee staring down at him whilst tossing an emerald up and down in his hand.

"What's up, hedgehog?!" Charmy yelled playfully, obviously not realising the situation.

"Charms, get the fuck down here! I need your help!" Shadow suddenly begged, which instantly sent Charmy into serious mode. He carefully landed next to the mammal and folded his arms whilst remaining on the board.

"What's up?" The bee asked in a calmer tone.

"I need your help to find Espio." Shadow told him. The bee groaned in annoyance.

"Why would I want to find him?" Shadow then pointed up above the trees to his right where the spores were closing in.

"What the fuck is that?!" Charmy exclaimed.

"That is our end, unless we find him!" Shadow yelled in a sudden panic not realising that it was that close. "Take this, you'll need it." Shadow said as he handed the bee his gas mask.

"But, don't you need it?" Charmy asked clearly concerned for the hedgehog. He stopped for a second and looked Charmy dead in the eyes.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Charmy's eyes widened. "Now, come on!" Shadow ordered before they both sped off in search of the chameleon. The jungle was dense and Charmy was struggling to navigate the maze because of his inexperience with Extreme Gear. It was only a matter of time before he fell off his board. In a panic, the bee quickly put on his gas mask knowing that the spores would catch up with him. It wasn't long before Shadow noticed the downed bee and rushed back to pick him up with one arm and the board with the other.

"Shadow, for fuck sake, just run!" Charmy yelled at him.

"Not without you, dammit!" The hedgehog replied regardless of his own safety. It was only seconds before they were both engulfed by the spore cloud. Shadow was coughing violently, but continued to skate through the trees. He was quick enough to outrun it, but there was little time before the entire island would be taken over.

"Are you okay, Shadow?!" The teen panicked, but the hedgehog was coughing too much to answer. It was like breathing in heavy smoke that was now burning his throat. Shadow was forced to his knees trying to breath. "Dammit, get up! You can survive anything!" Charmy's voice and body were shaking. He had never seen Shadow in this state before and it terrified him. He took off the gas mask and screamed Espio's name over and over again in a panic. He tried to get the hedgehog to his feet, but was forced to let him go as he suddenly threw up. Once Charmy was sure he was done, he managed to get the mammal over his shoulder before hopping back on his board.

"Charmy!" A distant voice began to call out. He went above the canopy and looked around, but was forced to move as the spores caught up with them. From out of the jungle, Espio began leaping across the tree tops to catch up with the duo. Charmy spotted him and slowed down a little, but the spores wouldn't allow him to slow too much.

"It's all or nothing Espio!" The bee yelled as they approached the edge of the island. With a final burst of energy, the ninja leapt up and held onto the side of the board. As soon as Charmy saw this he flew as fast as he could, easily outrunning the infection. Espio managed to climb onto the board as they sped across the surface of the ocean. "Do you even realise how close we were to our own graves?" Charmy growled to the chameleon.

"Yes, Charms, I'm aware, but we're all okay, aren't we?"

"No!" The bee responded referring to Shadow. He was barely conscious and had blood dripping from his chin; his entire face was pale and he only moved when he needed to throw up again. "Look at what those spores have done to him! If they fuck the Ultimate Lifeform up this bad, then imagine what it can do to us!"

"What was he even doing down here?" Espio asked. Charmy sighed.

"Looking for you, dumbass!" The bee chuckled as tears began to fall. Espio pat him on the shoulders and stroked the side of Shadow's face. The hedgehog gave a weak smile in return.

"Can we get back up to the ARK?" Charmy shrugged.

"Only if he's strong enough." The bee answered. Espio noticed the mammal nod very slowly.

"Are you sure, Shadow?" Espio knew of the effects Chaos Powers can have and he was worried that Shadow was too exhausted. He nodded again.

"Okay…" Espio whispered. He was still concerned, but didn't want to argue in case it stressed the hedgehog further. "Whenever you're ready." Shadow held the emerald loosely in his hand and Espio held on as well, in case he dropped it.

"Chaos…" He struggled. "…Control."


	15. Fulfilled Your Purpose

**Hey guys and girls!**

**I managed to finish this one before more college kills any and all energy I have. It's 2am, just os you know. I actually struggled with this one, but I feel better knowing that it's finished.**

**As usual, I hope you all enjoy and I will see you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

By some miracle, they made it to the ARK, but they weren't out of danger yet. Shadow was completely out cold and they rushed him to the sleeping quarters. Espio was right by his side just like on the Babylon ship. Omega was stood in the corner also watching him while Charmy leaned against the doorway looking very guilty.

"It's okay, Charmy." Espio unexpectedly reassured.

"Hardly, if I hadn't fallen off then he'd be alright." Charmy replied.

"If I wasn't such a stubborn jerk, then he wouldn't have needed to come back to Angel Island to begin with."

"You deliberately stayed behind?" Charmy questioned. Espio nodded. "Why?"

"Because you were still down there. I wasn't going to leave you." Charmy looked to the floor now feeling even more guilty.

"I'm sorry…" The bee whispered. "I'm so ashamed of myself for what I did and I have no excuse for it. It was weakness, but it felt so much better."

"I can't say I don't understand. Killing Rouge was a similar thing. That feeling of being worried and fed up really grates on you until you snap. I can't do anything to make up for what I did, but you still can." Espio told him.

"No, I can't. I'm the last person she'd want to see, assuming she isn't afraid of me. Not to mention, I'm probably hated by everybody else."

"She still loves you." Espio said bluntly.

"What?" Charmy couldn't see how that was possible.

"She told me that herself. She's more understanding than you give her credit for." Charmy really thought about it until someone came up behind him.

"Knock knock." Tails said as he walked in, giving a quick glare to the bee before approaching Shadow. Charmy looked away knowing that the fox had every right. Tails had his scanner, which he had used on the hedgehog before. "Has he been awake at all?" Espio shook his head.

"He's been unconscious since we got here." The ninja told him. Tails nodded as he began to scan for the infection. It only took about ten seconds before Tails had done what he needed to.

"It'll take a few minutes to process everything, but I've even upgraded it so it can see where the spores are most concentrated." Espio nodded along listening to what Tails was saying, the fox continued. "At the moment, they seem to be in his nasal passages and in his throat, which explains why he was having trouble breathing."

"Is there any way to get rid of it?" The chameleon asked.

"Well, assuming it won't spread any further then, yeah, he'll probably throw it all up himself, which I know isn't nice, but it will clear his throat. As for the rest, I'm not certain." Tails looked a little saddened and the reptile sighed. "Anyway, I'll be back in a little while." Tails finished before he left the room, this time ignoring Charmy.

"He'll come round." Espio told him.

"We'll have to see about that." Charmy responded. "By the way, you look really red." The chameleon studied himself and sighed.

"I was out in the daylight, so it must be sunburn. I can't believe I didn't notice it." Espio looked up again, noticing someone else behind the teen. Charmy looked confused to begin with, but his expression was soon replaced by one of shock as he saw Cream stood next to him with Cheese hovering around nearby.

"Hey Charmy." She greeted in her usual soft voice.

"Uhhhhhhhhh…" Charmy couldn't put together any words out of sheer nervousness. The rabbit giggled, which in turn made the bee blush.

"Can we talk?" She asked him. Charmy was silently panicking and didn't know how to answer. Espio took him out of his thoughts and gave him some more reassurance.

"Charmy, you would be dead right now if it wasn't for Shadow. Make the most of every opportunity you get." The bee seemed to relax upon hearing his words. He turned back to Cream with a small smile.

"Of course we can talk. I'll be back in a bit, dad." He answered calmly. Cream took his hand and led him somewhere else. They went further down the corridor and decided they wouldn't go any further since they didn't know the ARK at all. She stopped Charmy in his tracks and stood in front of him. After scratching his helmet and breathing in and out a few times, the bee was the first to talk. "An apology won't make up for what I did to you, I know that and I hate myself for even laying a finger on you."

"Charmy…" The rabbit began. "…You've had a difficult life. You were forced to grow up during the end of the world, so violence has been around you constantly."

"But, you had to grow up in the same apocalypse. How come you aren't like me?" Charmy questioned.

"I haven't had to endure as much as you have. As soon as things got out of control, Tails brought us all straight here, except for Knuckles who wanted to try and save as many Mobians as possible."

"Oh…" The bee replied simply as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Dad says you still love me." Charmy chuckled nervously as he said it.

"He wasn't lying." Cream told him and he suddenly became silent. She moved closer and snuggled into his jacket. As if by instinct, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the head.

"I don't deserve you." He whispered. "You are an angel and I am a demon." Cream secretly blushed at how poetic Charmy suddenly was. She had never heard him become so deep and it only made her love him more.

"Maybe that's why I can't be without you." She whispered back. A small tear formed in the corner of Charmy's eye and he held her tighter.

"What about the others? I already know Tails hates me and I'm pretty sure the rest do to."

"It doesn't matter what they think. You've spent your whole life moulding yourself to the thoughts of others. They don't control you." Footsteps soon interrupted them as they looked to see Tails and Sonic running into Shadow's room.

"We need to go. Are we okay?" Charmy asked. Cream smiled and kissed him gently, causing him to blush madly. She giggled at him once more.

"We're more than okay." She answered.

"I'm going to need you through this. I'm terrified that Shadow's luck has run out." The bee was clearly anxious, but Cream took hold of his hand and kissed him again, this time on the cheek.

"I will be here, even if the worst does happen." They both nodded and made their way quickly back to Shadow and Espio.

* * *

Shadow had woken up and was making horrific wheezing sounds. Espio had to force his fingers down the hedgehog's throat to make him throw up, which in turn would clear the spores in his windpipe. Sonic was rubbing his back and Tails was still scanning to ensure that the spores weren't being replenished. It took a little while for everything to calm down. Shadow was in a state of shock, same for Espio. The hedgehog was breathing heavily, now that he could breathe, and tried to get to his feet. The chameleon helped as soon as he saw that he was struggling. A collective gasp escaped everyone in the room, except Omega, as soon as the black mammal turned to face them.

"What is it?" Shadow asked with a slightly gruffer voice.

"Your eyes…" Espio told him. They were heavily bloodshot but it wasn't red, it was green.

"It might just be a side effect. How's your vision, Shadow?" Tails asked him.

"It's fine." The hedgehog answered. The fox looked down at his scanner again and pushed a few buttons. Shadow sat back on the bed and Espio sat next to him.

"Damn, he breathed in so many spores that my scanner can't get a clear reading." Tails said, frustrated.

"So, we can't even tell if he's infected or not?" Charmy questioned, regardless if the fox hated.

"For now at least. I just need to adjust this thing a little so it can handle more data." The others looked at each other concerned. "If he is however, then early symptoms are memory loss, sudden twitching and gradual loss of sight." Tails informed them. They all still looked uneasy, but nodded nonetheless as Tails hurried back to the observation deck along with Sonic.

"Charms, how long was Shadow exposed to the spores for?" Espio asked.

"Only for like a few seconds, maybe not even that." Charmy answered clearly confused as to how much 'a few seconds' could mess someone up.

"How're you feeling?" Espio turned to Shadow who had now laid back down.

"I don't feel great to be honest, but I can see and I remember your names, that's something." He seemed so calm that it made everyone else more anxious. They knew on the inside he must have been terrified. He had killed so many just to potentially be one himself. "What do you think it's like being 'one of them'?" Shadow unexpectedly asked causing Espio to go a little pale and Charmy to choke on nothing.

"Um, what?" Espio managed to muster.

"I know it's a bit of an awkward question, but we've never thought about it before. What drives them to consume others? Can they be tamed?" Shadow went on. Charmy and Cream thought that Shadow's ideas were interesting, while Espio didn't know what to think.

"I um… don't know." Espio answered while the other two simply shrugged. Shadow gave a loud yawn, which the chameleon next to him couldn't help but smile at. "Someone's tired." Espio teased.

"Shut up." Shadow replied playfully.

"We'll leave you guys to it for a little while." Charmy told them before he, Cream, Cheese and Omega all left the room. The hedgehog's eyelids were getting heavy and it wasn't long before he was asleep once more.

* * *

Coughing soon got the hedgehog awake again. His throat was horribly dry, so much so that breathing was painful.

"Shad, what is it?!" Espio panicked.

"It's alright. I just need something to drink." Shadow reassured. Espio sighed heavily in relief and went to get Shadow some water. He quickly returned and handed the hedgehog the large glass. It was gone in one swift gulp followed by a satisfied sigh. The chameleon couldn't help but blush and Shadow was quick to notice. "Oh come on Es, really?" The mammal chuckled.

"I'm not apologising. Hearing you sigh like that drives me crazy." Espio admitted as if he was proud of it.

"I thought my purring drives you crazy?" Shadow asked.

"It does." Espio admitted yet again. A very sly grin appeared on the hedgehog as he chuckled. Espio giggled nervously.

"I could torture you with this new information." Shadow teased.

"…Please don't…" Espio begged. Shadow laughed some more before playfully poking him in the horn.

"Don't worry, I'm not exactly in the best condition at the minute." Shadow reassured him, which allowed the chameleon to relax a little. "But anyway, that water felt really good. My throat feels a hundred times better."

"Seriously?" Espio asked.

"Yeah, it's really weird. I can breathe through my throat just fine now." Shadow added. Espio was deep in thought for a few moments and without warning, ran to get Tails. They both came back in, Tails with his scanner. Espio asked him to scan the hedgehog's throat one more time. The fox looked confused, but did it nonetheless.

"What are you thinking, Es?" Shadow asked him.

"I just have a theory; I won't voice it yet, in case I jinx it." The chameleon informed him.

"I'll be right back." Tails said before leaving the room. They both sat there awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of them knew what to say. Espio was thinking about his new 'theory' some more, while Shadow appreciated the fact that he could breathe properly again. The fox unexpectedly ran back in, making them both jump a little.

"Shadow!" The teen exclaimed. "The spores in your throat are completely gone!" Shadow's jaw dropped as did Espio's.

"Are you serious?" Shadow asked in complete disbelief. Tails nodded excitedly. "But… how?!" Espio perked up and decided to now voice his thoughts.

"When Shadow drank the water, he told me that he could breathe perfectly fine and that made me think. The only reason the infection is around at all is because of this heat wave, right?" The other two nodded. "Shadow, when those spores were heading towards Angel Island, were they near the surface of the ocean or high up?"

"High up, why?" Shadow questioned.

"Because they wanted to be away from the water! Don't you see?! Water kills them!" Espio practically jumped up with excitement. Shadow looked to Tails, but the fox was just as speechless.

"How… how did we not figure this out before?!" The fox questioned still not believing it.

"None of you have ever been infected, so we would've never known plus, Shadow doesn't need to drink to survive. The only reason he did was because the spores had dried out his throat."

"So, if he never drank that water, then we would have never known about this?" Tails added.

"Basically." Espio confirmed.

"Oh good, drinking water was the smartest thing I have ever done. Never mind saving the world from aliens or the ARK itself. It was drinking water that takes the cake." Shadow said sarcastically.

"Oh, lighten up already. I've got to inform the others about this!" Tails said quickly before running out of the room.

"You don't seem too happy about this." Espio mentioned. The hedgehog shrugged.

"I am, it's just… isn't it a bit late? Humanity fell years ago and some of our friends are already dead." Shadow saddened remembering the Babylon Rogues. Espio understood as he remembered Cream telling him about her mother.

"I know, lives could've been saved if we had known this sooner, but think about it now. If something were to happen to the rest of us, then we have a cure for it. You did what you were created to do, Shadow." The hedgehog chuckled at Espio's last statement.

"I was created to 'be' a cure not to 'find' it." Shadow smiled. "I appreciate your words though. Thank you, Espio." They both then re-joined everyone at the observation deck for the first time since they got there.

* * *

The atmosphere seemed hopeful, but as always, Blaze was the one to bring everyone back to reality.

"What is our plan of action now? There is no way to grow food up here, which means we are going to have to go back down."

"All we need is somewhere near the coast, right?" Silver mentioned.

"But, this heat wave is still around. Any coastal areas won't have any water near them anymore." Vector told them. They all got into a big debate as to what their next move should be. Charmy, Cream and Cheese decided to stay out of it as they stared out of the window to the planet below.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Cream asked referring to their world. Charmy nodded in agreement.

"It is, but it's not the same. The ground is nothing but a yellow wasteland and the oceans aren't as vast as they used to be. I'm amazed that there's any ocean left."

"I guess." Cream sighed. "But look at the north and south poles, they still look the same." Charmy gave an odd look.

"Yeah… you're right." He said a little confused. "Uh, Tails? This heat wave _is_ affecting the entire planet right?" The bee asked.

"Well, yeah, why?" Tails asked in return.

"Are you sure?" He said in a smug tone. The fox grunted in annoyance.

"What's your point, bee?" Tails said sternly. Cream unexpectedly glared back at the fox, who now looked slightly terrified.

"My point is, if it was affecting the whole planet then the Polar Regions would've melted, right?" Tails nodded. "Well, they're still there." Charmy finished causing everyone to rush to the window to see for themselves.

"Holy shit." Knuckles said a little too loudly while everyone else was in awe. Charmy couldn't help but feel very proud of himself and Cream for noticing this very obvious detail.

"So…" The bee went on. "…What's the plan now?"

"We pack whatever stuff we can carry, including gas masks for each of us, and head south." Tails suggested.

"The problem with that is that there is an ocean between the city and the South Pole." Sonic pointed out making Tails feel a little embarrassed.

"Haven't you been to the South Pole before?" Espio asked the black hedgehog.

"No, the closest I have been was one of Eggman's bases that was in a snowy region, but that wasn't anywhere near the South Pole." Shadow told him.

"What about me? I can use Chaos Control to, remember?" Sonic interrupted.

"Have you been there?" Espio asked.

"I've been all over the world many times! I can take us there!" Sonic announced proudly.

"You are aware of how much energy teleporting 11 people, including yourself, can take?" Shadow warned him.

"I know, but you recovered pretty well, even with the infection." Sonic reminded him. "I may be out cold by the time we get there, pardon the pun, but I'll be alright." Everyone seemed hopeful at their new plan and began to pack what they could.

"Whoa, Shadow, the whites of your eyes are like, really green now." Charmy told him. The black mammal sighed.

"I don't think there's anything I can do about that for now." Shadow answered. He then noticed his emerald glowing again and turned back to Charmy.

"You still have it, don't you?" The hedgehog questioned. The bee scratched the back of his helmet before taking the emerald out of his pocket.

"Yup… sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Hand it to Omega, he'll keep it safe." Charmy agreed and gave the emerald to Omega who placed it in his chest compartment. The other two they had were either in Shadow's possession, which he had now given to Sonic, or was still in Wave's Extreme Gear, which they were also bringing with them.

"I wonder where the other four are." Charmy thought out loud, but Shadow had no idea.

"Maybe we can find them someday once we've settled somewhere." Shadow said which in turn gave the bee a bit more hope.

"Everybody ready? Sonic asked, getting everyone's attention. They all nodded and held on just as they did before coming to the ARK.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic yelled as he held the emerald in the air. Just as quickly as the group had gotten there, they all disappeared.


	16. It Should Never Come To This

**Hello everyone!**

**It may be 6am, but it is totally worth it! We have a Chapter 16 and I am really hyped up because 16 is my favourite/luckiest/best number ever! :)**

**I wanted to try and put as much into this chapter as I could, but it's not getting any easier as college tires me out and I'm just emotionally exhausted. I did my best though and that's what counts, right?**

**I've never had a story go on for this long before and it really makes me smile to know that I can write something that goes on to reach my lucky number! It's the little things, really. So, thank you all so much!**

**Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I will see you all again soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

Fate seems to have a habit of luring unsuspecting souls into a false sense of security, and then slapping you in the face with a wet fish.

This situation was no exception.

The plan was to simply get to the southern Polar Region and settle there with no risk of the infection… but that was too easy.

Shadow awoke, unsure as to why he was unconscious to begin with and studied his surroundings. It was civilisation for certain, but it had long been in ruin. Another city in an unknown location, but this one was in a far worse state. Many of the skyscrapers had fallen simply due to not being maintained and this made the streets below them a battleground. The roads, while still visible were either badly damaged or had collapsed into some sort of mini-crater. The hedgehog looked above him to see spores, lots of spores. They weren't as heavily concentrated as the ones that came to Angel island, but they couldn't be missed.

What he found very strange was that they were everywhere, except for where he was stood. It was as if they were deliberately avoiding him and it didn't take long for the mammal to realise why. They somehow knew that there were spores already present in him and decided to leave him alone as if their work was already done. New problems entered the black hedgehog's mind as he looked around further, where was everyone else?

"Uh, hello?" He hesitated to ask in case infected were nearby; he thought that they would devour anything, infected or not. He took one more glance at the green death above him before a familiar voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"They know you're infected." A calm, feminine voice told him. He turned to see Blaze equipped with her gas mask to protect her from the spores.

"Yeah, I already figured that one out." He explained.

"It's a miracle you aren't an infected already." The feline continued. "Every single one I saw got taken over in under 12 hours." The hedgehog's eyes widened a little.

"I guess it affects us differently."

"But, you're going to be one eventually." She said quickly as a fireball was created in her hand. Shadow gave her an odd look and slowly began walking backwards at the cat approached him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He asked angrily.

"Look Shadow, we need to be realistic. You may not be one yet, but you will be one at some point. I'm doing you a favour."

"A favour?! You'll be ending a life unnecessarily! Look, if I was in your position at the start of all this then I would've done the same, but if there's anything that Espio has taught me, then it's that every life has a purpose. If you were to kill me now, then not only are you not giving me a chance to survive, but you are also taking away a father and a husband!" They both glared at each other for a few seconds, each of them still as if any movement at all would cost one of them their life. Eventually, Blaze sighed and extinguished the fireball.

"You're right." She admitted. "I guess all of this is clouding my judgement. I apologise for my actions, but I must ask; what would happen if you were to turn?" Shadow looked to the ground before looking back at her with a serious expression.

"Then you explain to Espio and Charmy why you needed to kill me." His tone was cold, but it told Blaze that he meant it and she nodded. "Anyway, we should get going; we won't find anyone just standing here." The feline nodded once more before following close behind. Neither of them talked as they studied everything around them. The majority of buildings were old apartment blocks and they were all heavily damaged and looked as if they were about to collapse at any moment. This made them both nervous, but they kept their composure. Without warning, an infected came charging from one of the narrow alleys between the buildings.

"Look out!" Blaze warned as she charged up a fireball and launched it towards the infected. She was forced to use a second, weaker fireball when the first one missed. It knocked the infected down, but didn't kill it. Shadow simply walked up to it and stamped down on its head, crushing it. The feline looked disgusted at first; she clearly didn't expect the hedgehog to be so brutal, even if it was necessary. They weren't out of danger yet as Blaze's first fireball smashed into one of the apartment buildings next to them. It was so unstable, that it couldn't take the blast and began to fall.

"Blaze! Run!" Shadow yelled as they went in opposite directions. Thankfully, they both avoided being potentially crushed however, they were now separated by the large concrete pile. "Are you alright?!" Shadow asked.

"I'm fine." Blaze replied. "Wait…" She continued, Shadow was confused, but listened. Screaming could be heard getting closer to the both of them. "Infected!" The feline panicked as a horde came charging from the surrounding streets.

"Hang in there, I'll climb over!" Shadow yelled as he scrambled over the debris. He could hear more fireballs going off, but couldn't hear Blaze at all over the horde. The hedgehog glanced down to see another horde behind him also trying to climb over. He told himself to ignore it for now and focus on Blaze. It didn't take long for him to climb up, but as he looked over, he couldn't see Blaze anywhere. His jaw dropped when he saw many infected crowded over something on the ground. While he couldn't see what it was, he already knew. "Blaze…" He whispered to himself as a solitary tear ran down his cheek.

"_I'm so sorry…"_ Shadow thought to himself. _"Rest in peace."_ The black hedgehog felt terrible, but knew he had to leave in order to find the others. With a bit of effort, he turned away and hopped back down only to be greeted with his own horde. He was about to ready a Chaos Spear when he suddenly remembered that his only Chaos Emerald was given to Sonic. "Ah fuck!" He yelled angrily, but the infected around him didn't react. He cautiously approached one and poked it in the arm. Nothing.

"No fucking way." Shadow whispered. He walked through the horde as if it was just a normal crowd of people; getting shoved a few times and getting accidently elbowed in the shoulder. Once he had made it out the other side, he took one, long look behind him before walking away.

* * *

Days passed as the hedgehog wondered aimlessly. He had made it to the edge of the city where there was a steep drop before the land continued; he was now venturing across this new, dry, wasteland in a hope of finding water. The wind that blew onto his face was the only thing keeping the hedgehog cool. Shadow was certain that he had sunburn underneath his fur.

_"What the fuck is that noise?"_ The black hedgehog thought as a loud 'booming' noise could be heard in the distance while he ran, but chose to ignore it and focus on his current task.

It was long into the night before Shadow finally stopped to take a break. The stars were as clear as always and the only source of peace the ebony hedgehog had. He raised a brow as soon as he saw a pink star flying through the sky. _"Wait, what? A pink star?"_ Shadow soon remembered that Charmy had brought the Extreme Gear with him and that it always left a pink trail behind it.

"Charmy!" The hedgehog yelled at the top of his lungs. The board immediately turned and landed next to the hedgehog. The bee jumped off and hugged the hedgehog tight. To his surprise, the teen was crying. "Charmy? What is it?" The hedgehog panicked. While the bee was indeed crying, his voice was oddly calm.

"I woke up in this ruined rainforest. There were just towers of bark everywhere and you know how bad I am at flying in close quarters places. Anyway, I met up with Knuckles, who was being chased by this horde at the time, so I told him to jump onto the board like Espio did that one time, but when he grabbed on I lost my balance and-and…" Charmy was visibly shaking. Shadow hugged him tighter and reassured him in order to calm him down. In a few deep breaths, he continued. "He fell to the ground and the horde was all over him… even while they were ripping him open he was still punching them to get them off! Shadow, it was horrible! I can't get the image out of my head!" Charmy yelled hysterically.

"I know Charmy, I know." Shadow comforted him.

"What if that happens to me or to you or Espio or Cream?! I don't want to die, Shadow! I'm terrified!" The bee cried. Shadow had to snap him out of it for the sake of the teen's sanity. He let go and shook the bee by his shoulders while staring into his watery eyes.

"Charmy! Listen to me! Yes, what you saw today was a shock, but just think that you could've died at any point up until now and you haven't. You have survived despite everything that has been thrown at you and you now have Cream to think about. For a 17 year old, I think you've done pretty damn well." The hedgehog gave a warm smile which Charmy returned.

"Thanks, Shadow, you already know that praise for me is rare, but something like that is what I'll never forget."

"I meant every word, little guy. Come on, we'd better see if we can find anyone else."

"I'm not that little." Charmy commented as he got on his board getting a chuckle out of the black mammal.

"Wait, before we go, I need to find water. I thought maybe a swim might sort out my eyes and whatever else." Shadow informed the bee as he pointed in the direction he was originally heading in. Charmy nodded and began to fly off. The ocean was a lot further out than either of them had realised, but they made it nonetheless.

"Here ya go, Shadow, have fun with your midnight dip." The insect laughed earning himself a playful middle finger which only made him laugh more. Much to Shadow's dismay, he had to take off his shoes to avoid damaging them before running in. He couldn't see a thing because it was pitch black and he was certain that something from the deep was going to pop up and tear him in half. The mammal enjoyed the water as much as he could before his paranoia forced him to get out. He shook himself dry just like a dog would. "I wonder how dad would react if he saw you do that." Charmy spoke from the water's edge.

"That's easy; he'd have a ridiculously smug grin while he told me how cute I was." Shadow replied with a small smile. Once the hedgehog had gotten his shoes back on and dried himself out a little more, they both got onto the board and took off in search of the others. The mammal continued to talk. "Have you seen anybody else?"

"No, only Knuckles and you already know what happened to him." The insect teen paused and took a very shaken deep breath to compose himself. "What about you?" He asked in return with his voice remaining steady.

"Uh, I found Blaze actually. Well, she found me."

"Yeah? Where is she?" Charmy asked him, completely oblivious to her fate. Shadow hesitated, he didn't know what to say, but he had been honest about harsher things in the past. Charmy wasn't even the one he was worried about, it was Silver.

"She um…" His mind went blank as if what he was about to say was a complete lie. Charmy stopped the board allowing the duo to hover in place so that Charmy could focus fully on Shadow. "She didn't make it." The hedgehog finally told him.

"Holy shit…" Charmy whispered. "…What happened?"

"Long story short, a building collapsed which separated us. The noise from the collapse attracted a horde on both sides and I couldn't climb over quick enough to save her." They both sat there in silence, neither of them believing that two strong-willed people had been taken in such a small amount of time.

"What are you gonna tell Silver?"

"Like I haven't thought about that a hundred times. I have no idea; all I know is that he's going to be angry and that he's going to take it out on me. I need you and Espio to back me up when the time comes." Charmy nodded confidently.

"I can't promise that we'll keep you safe from his psychic powers, but I do know that Espio will defend you till death. Cream and I will also be on your side. Besides, it's not as if you didn't try to save her." He smiled before moving forwards once again.

"Thanks, but he's not going to see it that way." Shadow sat on the back of the board with his head rested on his arm. He appreciated the wind in his fur which was helping to dry him off quickly.

* * *

The sun was now peering over the horizon which allowed them both to see the ground clearly. They were passing by what used to be a small town with its fair share of infected, but what was odd was that they were all heading somewhere.

"Hey Shadow, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Charmy asked.

"Yeah, and I think we should follow them." Shadow replied.

"Huh? No, I meant that volcano over there! It's erupting!" Charmy exclaimed. "But, I see the horde, should we still follow them?" The hedgehog nodded since they had nothing better to do for the moment and headed in the same direction as the rushing horde. What they saw on the receiving end sent them both into a panic. Everyone seemed to have found each other and was facing the infected in their thousands as they came charging from hundreds of miles around.

"Charmy, I need that Chaos Emerald!" He yelled over the volcano's noise.

"Take it! I can fly!" Charmy told him. Shadow didn't hesitate as he took the emerald and teleported down to the surface. He landed in front of Espio and fired as many Chaos Spears as was physically possible. To his surprise, the spears didn't go through just one infected, but dozens at a time however, he forgot that the infected were capable of learning. The majority of them stayed at the front of the group and took the spears while a few hundred went around the sides and behind. The only reason none of them were eaten by their unexpected tactics was because Charmy had seen them and warned the others that they were approaching from a different angle. Omega was working overtime as he annihilated the infected in their hundreds… until he ran out of ammo.

"Ammunition reads… empty." Omega stated causing everyone else to panic more.

"We can't hold them off like this! We have to get out of here!" Sonic yelled to all of them. Shadow knew they could easily Chaos Control back to the ARK, but everyone was in too much of a panic and focused on staying alive to link arms and disappear.

"Can we fall back to the volcano?" Silver asked as he used his psychokinetic powers to launch large groups of infected further back however, repeatedly doing this was wearing him down greatly.

"Not only is the terrain too treacherous, but the gases released from the eruption will kill us!" Tails informed Silver and everyone else.

"Great… just great." Silver said to himself, clearly irritated at the sudden turn of events.

"Shadow, where were you?!" Espio finally got the chance to ask him once he had sliced three infected in half in one swing of his sword.

"Not certain, some city somewhere is all I can really figure out." The hedgehog answered honestly. "Are you alright?" He asked the chameleon in return.

"Well, I'm not bitten if that's what you mean." The ninja replied. Sonic was charging through the horde, knocking the ones that were in his way to the ground, but it wasn't enough to kill them. Tails was hovering overhead and informing everyone on where the horde was since he didn't have a weapon of his own while Charmy had gone to ground and brought out his modified pistol to slice some heads. Omega was simply a battering ram as he tried to mimic Sonic's actions while Vector was slamming the closest few away with his tail. Cream on the other hand was hiding in the middle of the group, almost afraid to move. Both Charmy and Shadow were the first to notice. The bee landed next to her and guarded the rabbit with his life while Shadow turned his attention back to Espio. He looked visibly tired and each swing of his sword resulted in less of an impact. He knew they would all perish here if nothing was done.

Every option was weighed in his mind but with only split-seconds of calm amongst the madness, it was difficult to think at all. It was an all or nothing situation and without another breath to spare, he quickly studied everything and noticed that the emerald he had given to Sonic was on the ground. A last resort idea soon came to mind as he picked it up, grabbed both Omega and Espio and Chaos Controlled. Everyone else glanced back in awe.

"Did Shadow just abandon us?!" Charmy yelled angrily. Nobody responded to him, they didn't want to believe that Shadow would just up and leave after all these years, especially without Charmy. But, how else were they supposed to think?

* * *

Meanwhile on board the ARK, Espio and Omega were chasing Shadow to the main control room.

"This is ridiculous, Shadow! You are going to kill everyone down there! Shit, even Charmy is still down there!" Espio aggressively growled at him.

"There is a small window between inputting the emeralds and the damn thing firing. I can go back down and bring everyone up here before those infected turn to dust. It will only be at a fraction of its power, but it will get the job done." Shadow explained to him but the reptile wasn't convinced. In only a minute, they got to the control room of the Eclipse Cannon. With the three emeralds they had, two would power it and one would be Shadow's method for leaving and returning to the ARK. "Omega, I need your emerald." Shadow instructed and the robot opened his chest compartment revealing the precious gem. The hedgehog quickly took it and put it into one of the seven slots above the control panel along with one other. A button labelled 'Activate' was now staring back at the trio. Espio was stood behind the black mammal with fear clear in his eyes. Without turning, the hedgehog spoke. "You ready, Es?" His voice remained deep, but the concern was there. When the ninja didn't answer, Shadow finally turned around. They both stared into each other's eyes as if they could see into one another's soul. Fear, anger, love and hate could all be felt in that moment.

"You'd better come back alive." Espio stuttered. Shadow moved closer and leant his head against his. He brought one hand up to his cheek and stroked it gently.

"Espio, you are the main reason that I am alive now and nothing, on or off of that planet is going to keep me from you." He separated from the chameleon and hovered his hand over the button. "If I don't make it…" Shadow paused and allowed a rare, genuine smile to spread across his face. "…I love you." Espio was nearly caught off-guard, but instead used his shock to fuel his courage. He pulled the hedgehog close and locked lips. Even if it was just for a moment, they both forgot about the dire situation surrounding them and went into an existence of their own. Their arms held onto the other fearing that this would be that last time to hold onto something worth more than life itself.

Espio, a chameleon he couldn't bear to lose and Shadow, a hedgehog that guarded the other's world.

"I love you too, Shadow." Espio whispered once they had parted. "May this goodbye be only temporary." Shadow nodded as he gently pushed the button causing a red light to flash, signalling that the cannon was active and charging.

"See you soon." Shadow finished before he Chaos Controlled back to the planet. Espio made his way straight back to the observation deck to watch the cannon fire with Omega following close behind. The chameleon had his hand upon the window as he stared helplessly upon the ruined planet below.

* * *

Minutes passed, causing the reptile to become more and more anxious.

"Where is he? Shouldn't he be back by now?" Espio questioned, but Omega didn't have an answer for him. Suddenly, the ARK began to rumble which made the chameleon's breathing quicken and his heart race. He ran back to the window after mindlessly pacing, only to see a green beam fire from the ARK to the planet's surface.

Shadow, along with everyone else were nowhere to be seen.


	17. The Flip Side

**Here it is! Another weekend, another chapter! This one was difficult to write, but not out of writer's block or lack of creativity, but because of the events that happen. You'll see what I mean.**

**I hope you enjoy and I will see you soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

"_May this goodbye be only temporary." Shadow nodded as he gently pushed the button, causing a red light to flash, signalling that the cannon was active and charging._

"_See you soon." Shadow finished before he Chaos Controlled back to the planet._

* * *

The situation he returned to was no better than before. The entire group were being pushed into closer quarters than any of them were comfortable with and any progress they thought they were making was being diminished by hundreds more infected.

"Where the fuck did you go?!" A certain bee yelled at him as he approached. It was clear that his anger management hadn't improved, and all he had really done was bottle it up until he had an opportunity to let it out on someone. That someone just happened to be the black hedgehog himself.

"Charms, before you go crazy, can I just explain?" He asked in a hope that the teen would listen.

"Explain what?! How the rest of us aren't as important as Espio or Omega?! Espio maybe I could understand I mean, you did marry the guy after all, but Omega?! He's a robot! There is absolutely no threat to him whatsoever!" Charmy was obviously not going to calm down and if he was going to get them all out of there, then he needed to display some sort of authority in order to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, you listen to me! I had my reasons for getting them both out of here, reasons which I can't explain right now! But if you don't shut up, then you and everyone else are going to burn right here at any second!" Shadow yelled in the teen's face, which caused him to step back. No one seemed to question why they would 'burn' here. They just assumed that it was from the volcano, until a colossal boom was heard from above. Everyone looked up in unison and even the infected momentarily got distracted. "Chaos Control!" Shadow suddenly yelled, but instead of teleporting, he slowed down time. He looked up again to see a large, green beam suspended in the sky. It was an astonishing view, but the hedgehog had to focus as he moved everyone around so he could Chaos Control them somewhere safer.

Suddenly, the effect wore off and time continued normally. What Shadow had forgotten about was that his previous Chaos Controls had taken enough of his energy that he couldn't maintain any form of time manipulation for very long. With only a few seconds to react, Shadow grabbed the nearest person to him and Chaos Controlled to the first place that came to mind. He could only hope that everyone had stayed close together in those few moments.

* * *

From chaotic screams to eerie silence in an instant. The atmosphere had changed dramatically now that everyone had time to think. Sand was now beneath them instead of rocks and grass; they were back in the desert right next to an old gas station. Shadow couldn't figure out why he thought of this place out of everywhere else he had been, but he liked it here. The black mammal didn't want to turn around in case anyone was missing, but he couldn't have his back to them forever. He took a deep breath and turned around.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked to begin with, now causing everyone else to glance at each other. Charmy and Cream were hugging one another tight as soon as they realised that they had both made it. Even Cheese the Chao was sat happily on top of Charmy's helmet. Silver was looking around frantically and it was only a matter of time before he asked the heart-wrenching question. Tails was also looking around and asked a question none of the group saw coming.

"Where's Sonic?" Everyone looked for themselves, obviously thinking that the blue blur was here and Tails just hadn't seen him, but worried looks soon spread across everyone when none of them could see Sonic anywhere. "Sonic?" Tails called out, but there was no answer. The fox's breathing quickened and tears ran down his fur. "Sonic!" He called again as he ran around frantically.

"Hey guys, where's Blaze?" There it was. The inevitable question that caused Charmy to turn to Shadow with a terrified expression. The black hedgehog looked back with his face looking very serious as if to say 'I'll tell him'.

"Uh, Silver…" Shadow began, but he went blank. He had no idea how to tell him. The truth seemed too brutal, yet lying would only make it worse. The one in white was now looking at him expecting an answer. "I'm sorry, but…" Silver's face went from worried one minute to angry the next and back again, it was very hard to read him and Shadow couldn't predict how he would react. He only knew that he wouldn't respond well to what he was about to tell him. "She didn't make it."

"Wha-what?" Silver whispered in complete disbelief. Shadow couldn't look at him out of shame, yet he knew he did nothing wrong, but that didn't seem to matter, as if trying his best didn't matter.

The rest of the group had backed away from the two as if expecting the same rage Shadow was. "What do you mean, 'she didn't make it'?" His voice sounded harsh as if it was only an indicator of what was to come.

"The horde got to her, okay? There was nothing I could do." Shadow answered.

"Bullshit! You're the Ultimate fucking Lifeform!" Silver began to yell.

"That doesn't mean I can perform miracles! I tried, alright?!"

"Clearly not hard enough!" The white hedgehog suddenly lifted his hand and picked up the one in black with his psychic powers. Shadow cringed in pain as his entire body was no longer under his control.

"Silver! Stop!" Charmy begged, but he was in too deep to listen to anything except his angry thoughts.

"Sil…ver…" Shadow struggled to talk as his life was slowly being drained from him. The bee thought quickly and pulled his pistol back out from his jacket. Cream looked at him in horror.

"I have to do this, okay? Believe me I don't want to, but he's going to kill Shadow otherwise." The bee reassured. Cream nodded and gave an understanding smile. Charmy aimed at the arm Silver was using and held his breath to keep himself steady. Silver cried in pain as a single bullet tore through his right arm, but he didn't release Shadow like he thought he would. Instead, he used a burst of energy to throw the black mammal into the distance before finally clutching his wounded arm.

Both Charmy and Cream ran to Shadow's aid however, using his other arm, Silver froze Charmy using his psychokinesis. "Get… Shadow…" The bee told her as she began to run towards the darker hedgehog.

"You shot me!" Silver exclaimed angrily.

"You didn't… give me much of a choice." Charmy struggled. "This is not… the answer!" The teen tried to yell, but it only angered the hedgehog more.

"You have been a pain in the ass for long enough. Blaze is gone… my own wife is dead and it's about time you learnt what that sort of despair feels like." Silver then slammed the bee into the ground, stunning him before he ran after Cream. Without Blaze, Silver had no control over himself and his sanity had quickly fallen. The fiery feline was all he had and without her, there was no limit or consequence to what damage he could do.

The bee was only stunned for a couple of seconds before he realised what Silver was doing and instantly got up. The white mammal was easily catching up to the rabbit and formed a blade made out of pure psychic energy in his hand. A psychotic grin was on his face as he threw the blade towards Cream, who had now turned around and couldn't move out of fear.

"No!" Charmy yelled as he flew as fast as he could. Without a second thought, the bee flew in between the blade and Cream allowing it to pierce through him in order to save the one he cared about.

"Charmy!" She cried as she ran towards him and knelt by his side as he bled on the sand. Silver was visibly trembling as he realised what he had done. In a moment of panic, the white hedgehog used his powers on himself and flew off without looking back. Tails witnessed everything as well as Shadow, who had regained enough strength to get up and run towards the badly injured bee.

"Holy shit, Charmy!" Shadow panicked while Tails was utterly speechless at the bee's actions.

"Are… you okay?" Charmy asked Cream who was now crying. The teen coughed harshly afterwards because of his injury.

"No, Charmy, I'm not." She could barely talk because of her heavy tears. Her hand gently stroked his cheek as tears of his own ran from his eyes. He smiled and lifted his hand to mimic her actions.

"Everything will be okay. I did this for you, so you could live out the rest of your life and maybe live to see the day when all this is over." His voice was now only a whisper as everything in his body began to slow down. He handed Cream both of his pistols one at a time. "You'll need them more than me." He told her. She wept loudly in response and held Charmy as tight as she could, hoping somehow that death wouldn't take him from her.

"Charms… no." Shadow finally spoke. To the surprise of everyone, Shadow was crying. Everyone thought he would hide it at least until he was with Espio again, but the hedgehog couldn't fight it even if he wanted to. The bee coughed some more before he spoke back him.

"Shadow, I mean… dad, be sure to tell Espio that I said goodbye, okay?" Shadow only cried more knowing that Charmy, his son had accepted his fate before anybody else.

"No problem, little guy." Shadow trembled as he also knelt at the bee's side. Charmy had one arm wrapped around a distraught Cream while the other held onto Shadow's hand.

"What made you do it?" Tails suddenly popped up from nowhere, his face also covered in tears.

"It's like an instinct. You don't think about it and any fears you have don't exist. The only thing that matters is the one you love the most and to see her injured by that psycho was just not an option."

"You're so brave, Charmy. I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you." The fox's guilt emerged, but Charmy was in a situation where he wanted everything to be forgiven before he could speak no more.

"No need to apologise, Tails. I would've been the same, but this made me think. Jet did the same thing for Wave and now that I'm lying here, I'm certain that he loved her, even if he didn't admit it." Charmy let out a mix of a chuckle and a cough after he spoke.

"You think so, huh?" Shadow teased. The bee nodded with a grin, but his expression became more serious as he coughed again, this time with blood coming from his mouth.

"Ch-Charmy?!" The rabbit next to him panicked.

"It's okay… I'll be amongst the stars, so if you ever feel alone, look up." New tears emerged as his eyelids grew heavy. They all knew his time was nearly up and it hit them all. "Cream, I know things won't be easy after this, but just know that I love you and always will, whether I'm here or not."

"I love you too, Charmy. Never, ever forget that." Was all she could reply with before a new wave of sadness came over her. She clutched the bee in her arms once again while Charmy tried his best to hold on, but it was getting harder with his strength quickly failing. With one last breath, his body finally gave in and his arms fell to the ground. Shadow closed his eyes and turned away knowing that his time had come. Tails put his hand on the grieving rabbit's shoulder as she continued to weep.

"I… I need to get Espio and Omega. Espio needs to know about this." Shadow spoke softly. Cream didn't answer but, Tails nodded for the both of them. He whispered those two words before returning to the ARK.

* * *

Unexpectedly, there was no one on the observation deck. The only other place he could think of where the duo would be was in the sleeping quarters. The hedgehog slowly walked down the corridor, listening to his own footsteps as they echoed. None of it felt real, his feelings, his situation or what he was about to tell Espio.

He checked each room he came across until one of them was housing a robot that was simply stood there and a chameleon that was asleep on the bed next to him. Shadow put a finger over his mouth, signalling for Omega to keep quiet which he did. "Do you have the other two emeralds?" Shadow whispered. Omega shook his head. "Are they still in the Eclipse Cannon?" Omega nodded this time. "I'll go get them. Wait here, I'll be right back." The hedgehog took his time to get the two gemstones. He appreciated the time alone since things would only escalate again once Espio knew what had happened. He carefully took the two emeralds from the Eclipse Cannon and walked back to where the other two were. One was given back to Omega to keep in his chest compartment while Shadow kept the other. The hedgehog then sat next to the sleeping reptile and eventually got him to wake up.

"Shadow?" Espio questioned to begin with thinking that he was only dreaming, but soon realised that it really was the black hedgehog sitting on the end of his bed. He instantly hugged the mammal who hugged back, tighter than usual. Espio gave him an odd look when he could feel him shaking. "What is it?" He asked knowing that something was wrong.

"I… I can't say it. It would be better if I showed you." Shadow replied causing the chameleon to go slightly pale out of a mix of concern and fear. They both held on as he managed to gather the courage to take both Espio and Omega to where their son now lay.

* * *

As soon as they landed, Espio looked around wondering where they were until his gaze landed on a bee with his eyes closed on the ground. The ninja froze, unable to breath and unable to move. His body began to tremble, but he slowly walked towards him. He then fell to his knees and put a hand on Charmy's. It was cold and lifeless. His mouth opened as if he was about to speak, but no words came, the only thing that escaped him were tears. Silent but very real tears.

"What the fuck happened?" Espio whispered, though his voice was very unsteady, but a deadly growl was clear underneath it.

"Silver is what happened." Shadow replied. The ninja immediately got up and turned straight to the hedgehog.

"Silver did this?!" Espio snapped, but Shadow surprisingly remained calm partially because he didn't have the energy.

"Yes, because he had lost Blaze." Espio softened slightly.

"B-Blaze died to?"

"So did Sonic." Tails spoke. Espio's jaw dropped, but it didn't explain everyone.

"What about Knuckles and Vector?"

"Knuckles was with Charmy when we originally tried to get to the Polar Region. A horde got him." Shadow explained. Tails saddened even more now knowing that Knuckles was gone as well.

"Then… what about Vector?" Espio hesitated fearing that he would hear the same fate as the others.

"Tails, was he here when we teleported from the volcano?" Shadow asked the fox, but he only got a shake of the head as a response.

"Oh Chaos…" Shadow whispered.

"No… are you fucking kidding me?" Espio whispered afterwards. "Vector too?! How the fuck did all of this happen?!" The chameleon suddenly yelled making Shadow jump.

"I don't know! Only a few hours ago everyone was alive and together and now…" The hedgehog stopped, not wanting to cause another argument.

"Where is Silver?" Espio growled again remembering their current situation.

"He flew off as soon as he attacked Charmy." Tails informed him.

"That fucking coward! I'll kill him!" Espio yelled.

"You and me both." Shadow added.

"Same here." Cream joined in even if it did shock everyone else.

"I'll get in on that." Tails agreed now knowing how noble Charmy truly was.

"New objective: Eliminate Silver the Hedgehog." Omega finished for all of them.

They all stayed put for the next few hours until they were sure they were ready. They buried Charmy near the gas station, which was also the place that Shadow went to get a plank of wood from to carve Charmy's name into using his modified knife/pistol. He carefully placed it where Charmy was and they all said their final goodbyes, not just to Charmy, but to everyone they had lost along the way. Once they were all content, they each began a very long walk in the direction Silver had flown off in.

What was a mission for survival, was now a hunt for a hedgehog.


	18. Chain Reactions

**Hey all!**

**I know it's been about a week, but it feels like forever since I've updated for some reason. Free time has been lacking, so I can't promise that chapters will be consistent, but I will get them done, one way or another.**

**Anyway, that was just a heads up, just in case there isn't one for a little while. I don't want to rush anything.**

**I thank you all for your patience and understanding. So, with that said, I will see you all soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

A blanket of darkness had soon settled upon the land. Espio had sunburn yet again from the day, but he didn't care as he followed everyone else. He was at the back away from the others; they all assumed he just needed the time alone. Cream was walking next to Omega while looking up at the stars; little whimpers escaped her every now and then as she remembered happy memories with Charmy. Leading the group was Shadow and Tails, who up until now, had been silent.

"How's he holding up?" Tails asked the taller hedgehog. He glanced back at Espio, knowing that he was referring to him. The chameleon was staring at the ground; he seemed so lost and so distant.

"Not well would be an understatement." Shadow replied. "You seem to be doing fine considering you just lost your best friend."

"He'd want me to be strong and to keep going."

"That doesn't mean bottle it all up." Shadow told him. Tails sighed and nodded.

"What about you? You seem to be doing well since you just lost your son." Tails said in return. The hedgehog's face seemed to sadden.

"Believe me when I say that it hit me just as hard. But it's not me you should be worried about, it's Espio. His mental state wasn't stable to begin with and he even told me a while back that if he were to lose Charmy, then he was afraid of what he might do." Shadow explained.

"What _is_ he going to do?" The fox asked.

"I have no idea, that's why I'm keeping a close eye on him." The hedgehog glanced back at him again, this time with a more concerned look. They were silent once more until Cream broke the very obvious tension.

"Uh, Mr. Shadow, Mr. Espio isn't walking with us anymore." She told the black mammal. Shadow turned to see for himself and sure enough, she was right. Espio was a fair distance behind them and he was just sat there staring at the floor.

"I'd better talk to him. You wait here." He told the group before he sighed and approached the silent chameleon.

* * *

Espio didn't move, didn't blink and didn't even acknowledge Shadow's existence when he sat next to him. "I won't even begin with the whole sympathetic speech, Es. I know what it's like to lose a best friend and to lose a son, but never at the same time."

"Just, why Shadow? Why did he do it?" Espio asked him. His voice flooded with sadness that tears could no longer show.

"I didn't hear the conversation. I only saw Charmy getting picked up as he ran towards me. Cream kept on running and Charmy was thrown into the ground. Then Silver began to run after Cream with some weird bright blue knife in his hand. He threw it with the intent to kill Cream, but Charmy shielded her from it." Shadow's expression didn't change, neither did his voice, but inside he could feel that black hole where something should be, but isn't. Espio's mouth gaped as he heard the details. His bottom lip trembled as his eyes looked to the skies with some small hope that he would see the bee again.

"He always was my brave little guy." The chameleon's voice was trembling now. Shadow carefully put an arm around him and allowed the reptile to rest his head on the other's shoulder. "Shadow… isn't there any way to reverse this?" Espio asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" The hedgehog was clearly puzzled.

"I mean with your Chaos powers. Can't you go back in time with them?"

"That requires a second person and a second emerald. While we have three emeralds, there isn't anyone else here who can use Chaos abilities except for me." Shadow explained. A thought came to the chameleon's mind, a thought which he knew Shadow would be unhappy with, but at this point the ninja was willing to try anything.

"What about Silver?"

"Are you out of your mind?!" The hedgehog snapped at him. "Have you already forgotten what that fucker did?!" Espio just sat in silence. It was as if Shadow's anger was having no effect, but inside it was hurting him and he felt as if he deserved it. "If it wasn't for him, then Charmy would still be alive and now all of a sudden you want me to work with him?!" Shadow finally stopped yelling and calmed himself down. A sudden uncomfortableness came over him once he realised that the chameleon hadn't reacted at all. "Uh… Espio?"

"We should go." The reptile replied simply before he got up and walked towards the rest of the group. Shadow's bottom jaw hung, he had no idea what to make of what just happened. After a minute or two of trying to get his head around it, he also joined back up with the others and they all began walking once again.

"Is everything alright?" Tails asked Shadow. The hedgehog didn't want to go into it, but did wonder if going back in time could be a possibility at all.

"Espio wants to reverse everything by travelling through time." He said bluntly. Tails gave an unsure look.

"I don't know about that. Changing past events, even if they're tiny, could drastically change what happens now or in the future and more often than not, it isn't the change you were hoping for." The fox teen explained. Shadow sighed knowing it was a long shot, not to mention that he would rather tear Silver in half than get his help.

* * *

Silhouettes of mountains appeared behind the rising sun. Stars began to vanish beneath the gentle pinks and purples, bringing with it a new day with new problems.

"Mr. Shadow, does Mr. Espio still need shelter from the sunlight?" Cream asked reminding all of them of the chameleon's new nocturnal situation. Shadow exhaled loudly and scratched the back of his head which everyone interpreted as a 'yes'.

"What do we do? The mountains are still a few miles away, which will take hours to reach." Tails explained, but the hedgehog came up with an idea; an idea he wasn't entirely comfortable with now that Espio was being distant with him.

"Well, when Espio, Charmy and I were on the run from G.U.N., we took shelter in a small cave amongst the mountains. I can Chaos Control us there so we can all rest until the sun goes down." Everyone else seemed to like the idea, except for Espio and Omega who simply didn't react. Shadow chose to ignore it and teleported everyone anyway.

* * *

"Ugh, those jumps aren't getting any easier." The hedgehog complained as each jump took more and more of his energy.

"You should rest, Shadow." Tails told him out of concern, which the black mammal secretly appreciated. The fox then curled up in the corner and closed his eyes while Cream did the same in the opposite corner. Omega meanwhile just stood there staring at Shadow.

"We're going to be here until dusk, go into stand-by mode and we'll wake you when we're ready, understand?" The hedgehog told him.

"Understood." The robot replied before he obeyed his commands. Shadow turned to see Espio near the cave entrance. He was lying there looking out at the rocks that no longer had snow covering them. Snow was non-existent in the mountains now and all that was left were enormous, stone peaks. The mammal almost wished it was colder just so he could have an excuse to hold the chameleon close. Despite him being right there, Shadow honestly felt lonely. He knew Charmy's death would have an impact, but he always assumed that they would get through it together and be stronger for it. This was different, the ninja was pushing him away and trying to deal with it on his own, just like he used to before they first got together. The hedgehog ignored his instincts and moved closer to the ninja. With a small burst of courage, he gently put his hand on the other's waist, but was forced to jump back when Espio suddenly pulled out the dagger that was also on his waist. Shadow was breathing heavily and trying to think clearly. He couldn't decide whether his reaction was out of reflex or if it was intentional.

"Es?" He asked nervously, but he soon saddened when the chameleon instantly turned invisible. Shadow just stood staring at where he was for a little while until he laid down next to Omega. The hedgehog tried to force himself to sleep, but his gaze was locked onto where Espio lay. He knew he was asleep when he suddenly went visible again. His back was to him, but Shadow for hours watched his shoulders rise and fall with each breath. He had never appreciated the little details in someone so much yet it was odd, it was only now that Espio was slipping away from him did he open his eyes once again and realise how much he meant to him.

"Shadow? What are you doing up?" A two-tailed fox asked him. Caught off-guard, Shadow tried to answer, but instead gave a worried look which concerned Tails. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked trying to maintain some kind of authority, but his expression ruined any hope of that.

"I couldn't… just Sonic and well… you know the story, but you didn't answer me." Without thinking, Shadow looked back to the purple reptile. "It's Espio, isn't it?" The fox continued. Shadow nodded which confirmed Tails' suspicions. "I was just going to take a walk to clear my mind. You can come if you want?" Tails offered. He nodded and got up to follow the fox out into the open.

* * *

They made their way to the top of one of the smaller peaks nearby and used the sun to try and tell what time it was. Shadow wasn't bothered, but Tails figured that it must have been around 1pm. Other than that, Tails didn't need to talk; Shadow began explaining all the worries that were plaguing his mind. Everything from Charmy's death to Espio's behaviour to his own concerns. It was rare for Shadow to confide in someone and when he did, it would only be to Espio, but just like the rest of the situation, this was different. He needed to get it out, even if it was to someone he wasn't all that close to otherwise, he would snap. Tails listened intently and tried his best to think of some way to help. Relationships weren't his strong point, so he could only base his answers off of his own logic.

"So, now I just don't know what to do. I can't lose him Tails, but it's like I have no control over it." Shadow concluded after explaining everything.

"Considering everything Espio has been through, his reaction is understandable. He wants to try and stay strong despite it all and it's obviously getting to him with his sudden aggression. From what you've told me, I'd say giving him some space would be the best move here."

"I guess…" Tails made it sound so simple; just leave him alone, but to Shadow it felt so difficult. Without Charmy, Espio was the only reason why he had kept going all these years and if he were to leave, he had no idea how he would respond to it. "But, I don't want him to feel alone."

"Well, of course don't abandon him. Check up on him every now and then, ask him how he's doing and if he's in a talkative mood then let him know that you're there if he needs anything and if not then try to understand that he'll need more time." Shadow could only nod. Tails' words made sense, but the only thing getting in the way was his own feelings, the feelings that told time he needed Espio to be close.

"_Emotions are a pain in the ass."_ Shadow thought. The fox next to him yawned and stretched.

"I'm going to head back to the cave and try to sleep. You should too, but if you want to stay here then that's your call." Tails told him.

"I just need to be by myself for a while. Thanks, Tails." The yellow fox smiled in return before leaving the hedgehog with his thoughts. He was silent, but allowed tears to fall. It was the waiting that drove him crazy, he felt so helpless. Shadow could only be patient when the circumstances were under his control, but this time they weren't and all he wanted to do was act to make things right again. First the infection, then Blaze, then Charmy and now this. It was as if he was losing his grasp on reality itself. So many thoughts were making themselves known in his head.

"_How did I get into this? How do I get out? I should've known it would come to this. No, I can't run and I won't. Fuck, my head hurts."_ He got up and walked back to the cave, deciding that it was the lack of sleep that made him feel worse than necessary.

* * *

Hours passed and the temperature had dropped enough so that it was no longer a danger to Espio, who was now outside meditating, something which Shadow hoped would calm his unpredictable temper. Tails was discussing with the others where they would go next. Food was running short as was water, so it was clear that hunting for Silver would have to be put on hold until they were in a better position themselves. They had already concluded that the mountains were a horrible place since it was just rock and that the ARK wouldn't be good because they couldn't get food up there either. Angel Island could've been a possibility if they knew whether the spores were still there and if they had contaminated the soil. Cream was the only one discussing with Tails as Shadow had his mind elsewhere.

"Shadow, can we talk?" A familiar low voice asked him. Espio was stood in the entrance. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were wet from tears he must have shed recently. Shadow slowly stood up and nodded while everyone else watched silently as they both walked out of the cave. He led Shadow to where he was previously meditating and turned to face him. The hedgehog was hoping that Espio was just upset about Charmy and Vector, but he silently began to panic when he wasn't wearing his ring.

"Wha-what is it?" Shadow stuttered. The chameleon stared straight into his eyes.

"Firstly, I would like to apologise for earlier. I didn't mean to suddenly pull a knife on you… well, at least I thought I didn't mean it." Espio explained. The hedgehog's eyes widened and his breathing began to speed up.

"What do you mean?" His voice was noticeably trembling, which Espio didn't comment on.

"While I was meditating, I got to thinking. Yes, I know you've done nothing wrong, but I can't help but direct any rage I have onto you." Espio's expression didn't change and his voice didn't show any sort of remorse either. The shaking hedgehog couldn't say a word as his worst nightmare halted his voice and his movements. "Shadow, I'm not going to drag this out, but with everything that has happened this destructive cycle with you is only going to get worse until I do something irreversible."

"Es, I don't care about that! You can cut my other arm off and I still wouldn't leave your side!" The hedgehog was in a complete panic as he put his hands on the chameleon's shoulders. "We'll be okay. It's just a phase, right? We'll be just fine; we can get through this, right?" Shadow was on his knees. Never before had he felt so vulnerable and so powerless. He felt pathetic and he could already feel his head going back to its old mind-set; the mind-set that was too stubborn to allow anyone to get close and the thing that cost him Espio in the first place. He was not only fighting to keep their relationship going, but to also stop himself from falling back into his previous self. If Espio left, then part of Shadow would leave with him.

"Shadow… please… if we stay like this then I am going to seriously hurt you and I cannot allow that." The hedgehog wanted to understand, but couldn't. It was as if Espio could see something that he could not.

"I spent ten years trying to find you, so that I could make you happy, so that you could have someone to rely on and so that you could be safe in the arms of another. Anyone else would wonder at this point if it was worth it, but I already know. It was and I regret none of it." Espio's jaw gaped at his words. They caught the chameleon completely off-guard. Shadow used this chance to speak. "There is no one else that I would be on my knees for. There is no one else that I would give my life for and if you really want me gone, then there is no one else that I will fall for." He stood back up and wiped the tears from his face. "Please… don't leave me." Shadow finished. Espio stared back at him and really thought about it, but he could see only one solution.

"I'm sorry, Shadow." Espio then turned away knowing his next words would hurt immensely. "It's over." Shadow took a step backwards to stop himself from falling over. He wanted to somehow convince the reptile to change his mind, but his expression told him that any efforts he made would be useless.

"Is that really what you want, Es?" He sounded as if he was about to burst into tears all over again. Espio nodded, which caused Shadow to tightly close his eyes and turn away. He didn't see the chameleon step closer to him; he only felt a gentle kiss on his head which made him look straight back into the ninja's golden eyes.

"Take that as a reminder of who I used to be." He told the trembling hedgehog. In a moment, Shadow threw all his fears aside and pushed his lips against the chameleon's. If this was the last time they would see each other then he was going to make the most of it. Every movement, every feeling he had he wanted to cherish while he could and Espio silently felt the same. The ninja knew this was the right choice, but couldn't deny that having the hedgehog close for the final time brought back memories of when they were first together. It was that nostalgia that he wanted to bask in until he had to go. To his surprise, Shadow was the one to pull away, even if the chameleon secretly didn't want him to.

"Take that as a reminder of who I am now because once you go, I won't be this way anymore." Shadow told him. Espio nodded knowing what he meant and turned to walk away. "Espio! Wait…" Shadow called to him unexpectedly causing him to turn around. "Take the other three with you."

"W-what?" Espio stuttered.

"You'll die out there on your own. At least with Tails, Cream and Omega you'll have a chance to survive. Omega even has an emerald if you ever need it for power or something."

"But, what about you?" The reptile asked.

"I'll be fine on my own, but you won't. Please, if I can't personally keep you safe then at least let them come with you, so that they can." Espio nodded and Shadow sighed in both relief and pain. He began to walk, but then stopped as soon as he was right next to Espio. They both stared deeply into each other's eyes. "Tell the others what's going on. Omega should listen to you because of how close you are to me, okay?" The chameleon nodded again. He was completely lost for words and was afraid that he would break down if he dared to speak. The hedgehog lifted his only real arm and gently stroked Espio's cheek. He nuzzled his face into the other's hand which caused them both to smile. "Goodbye, Espio." He whispered gently.

"Goodbye, Shadow." Espio whispered in return. It took some willpower, but Shadow eventually pulled his hand back and got the emerald out.

"Chaos Control." Were the last words Espio heard before the hedgehog vanished from both the mountains and his life.


	19. Facade

**Welcome back, everyone!**

**I got through this chapter a little quicker than expected, hence why it is up so soon. I can't say the same for the future, but we'll have to see.**

**Regardless, I hope you all enjoy and I shall see you all soon!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

Time seemed to stand still as he wandered aimlessly across the sands, yet he was aware that it had been at least a few days.

Before he knew it, the surface he was on was replaced by broken road. This led to endless steps, which in turn, led to concrete and then he stopped.

He was still staring at his feet, but now he could see the world below him. The streets with the dots of infected crawling all over them. From the top of the tower he looked down with a face of hollowness. No emotion seemed to be obvious except for deep within his eyes, there was fire.

A warm breeze rushed through him, but it caused no reaction as if it wasn't there at all. With no warning, he jumped. The pull of gravity forcing him towards the roads below. Whilst falling, he got an emerald in each hand and braced himself. Just moments from impact he yelled the words "Chaos Blast!" causing a red aura to appear and halt his descent. Having two emeralds made it twice as powerful, meaning that it spread further and did more damage. Any being that was close was turned to ash in a matter of seconds however; the hedgehog seemed to forget how unstable the surrounding buildings were when four began to fall. His eyes glared at his fast approaching death and quickly reacted by crouching and waiting for the perfect moment to jump through one of the windows thus, avoiding being crushed by the concrete wall. The plan was to then simply climb out of the building and keep walking but the presence of loose furniture stopped him from going anywhere. A solid, wooden desk landed on top of him, which caused him to fall backwards onto some glass that had broken from the previous Chaos Blast. A large shard dug into his left shoulder blade and was lodged into the bone. A painful cry escaped him before the combination of no sleep for the past few days and the energy used to Chaos Blast in the first place, caused him to fall unconscious.

* * *

The chill of the night air awoke the hedgehog some amount of time later. He was so confused; he had no idea if it had been hours, days or weeks. His body shivered under the desk that had him pinned. With his metal arm, he swiftly pushed it off of him, thanks to it giving his strength a bit of a boost. He groaned loudly as he tried to get up. Pain was rippling through his body as he stumbled to his feet and got out through a different broken window. The hedgehog collapsed onto the road, which was far more unstable than before. He struggled to his feet again while his body shook uncontrollably and began to limp away from the scene. The darkness felt colder to him. Despite chameleons being cold-blooded, Espio was what kept him warm at night. As if his arms wrapped around the hedgehog were what shielded him from the horrors of this black nightmare.

"I don't understand…" He began to say to himself. "…How can one chameleon make me feel like this? What's so special about him?" He scratched the back of his head as he thought hard about his own questions. "What is it that makes him so irreplaceable to me? Surely, anyone can hold my hand or nuzzle into my arm… assuming I didn't kill them first." Shadow allowed himself to smirk at the thought, but he quickly returned to being serious. "I won't fall for it again." A devilish smirk was now clear across his face. "If I ever see you again, you won't even recognise me."

* * *

_**2 Weeks Later...**_

* * *

The wind howled as it tore through the wilderness. Shadow was stood on top of a rocky cliff, overlooking the dried soil that was now simply a cracked crust upon the planet's surface. His eyes were closed and his arms crossed, allowing himself to take in the serenity of this waterless wasteland. The sun was setting, leaving a red glow to warm Shadow to his core. A sting in his shoulder caused him to momentarily lose his grip on nature. The hedgehog studied it, but he could only see part of a deep cut slowly healing.

"_At least it's better than it was."_ He thought calmly, but he knew overall he was in a worse condition. Everything from scratches to slices seemed to be everywhere on the male, which were hidden very well by his fur, yet they weren't caused by a sudden run of bad luck. Deep down, he knew it was subconsciously intentional all because of a reptile he would rather forget. The pain was his comfort and the only thing letting him know that he was still alive. With no Espio, his only purpose now was to wander the planet like a ghost searching for its grave.

Once back in his trance, many images of past events flashed through his mind. He remembered when he first ran into Charmy who got him into the whole 'we need to find Vector' fiasco, which led to him meeting Espio and admittedly not getting on too well with him to begin with. The past 11 years seemed to unfold after that with himself and the 'pink lizard' getting closer until that one fateful day on the ARK where he allowed him to slip away.

"_No, this time he wanted me to go not the other way round."_ Shadow thought that he had allowed history to repeat itself, but quickly convinced himself otherwise. His body jumped when something tapped his shoulder. Shadow instantly turned thinking that there was someone behind him, but there was no one. He growled quietly before closing his eyes until it happened again.

"Alright, who the fuck is there?!" He asked angrily, but got no reply. His expression suddenly softened and he gulped loudly. "Espio?" This time his voice was much softer as if pleading for the chameleon to hear his calling, but again, no response. "Who am I kidding? He wouldn't be here, he doesn't give a shit." Shadow told himself to try and make his moment of vulnerability pass quicker. He jumped again when a rumble echoed from the heavens. His gaze turned to the skies above to see fork lightning illuminating the entire area. A sense of awe quickly froze the hedgehog in place as clouds were replacing the twinkling white dots that he was used to seeing every night. "I don't believe it…" He whispered as another tap on his shoulder confirmed his thoughts. He felt his shoulder only to notice that his fur was damp. No one was ever tapping him, what was going on was that the rain had broken out of its prison. The heat wave had finally ended.

A few more seconds passed before the clouds released a downpour. Shadow had to run to find shelter before he became a drowned rat and froze to death. The plains were quickly flooding which made Shadow question the possibility of a rainstorm lasting 11 years. It would replenish the oceans, but most likely flood a good amount of the planet. The mammal wasn't sure about the idea and hoped that this wasn't the case. More buildings passed by as Shadow skated around hoping to find a somewhat decent shelter from the storm. A small house on the outskirts seemed well-shielded as it was surrounded by taller buildings. The hedgehog opened the door only for it to fall off.

"_Okay, I know I'm not that strong."_ He thought, figuring that it was the weather conditions that had weakened the hinges. The floor was creaky and quickly filling up with water, something which his shoes wouldn't like. He tripped over a few times trying to find his way around since the place was pitch black. Eventually, he felt some stairs which led to the second floor. Shadow decided that it would be a good place to hold out for now. He was practically crawling along until he felt a door handle and opened it, thankfully this one didn't fall off and he closed it behind him. The room he was in now wasn't any brighter, so he had to feel around again until he found the soft mattress of a bed.

"Thank Chaos." He said quietly before he allowed his body to collapse upon it. The wind and rain made it difficult to get to sleep and the flashes of lightning gave Shadow a split-second chance to look at his surroundings. He could first see that the room was small and the bed was in the middle against the wall that was opposite to the door. He then noticed a table next to the bed with the silhouette of a lamp and a framed picture, although he couldn't see what the picture was. He tried to turn the lamp on, but to no avail as there was no electricity.

The next flash revealed a lot of things hung up on the walls, but they weren't paintings. He got up and tried to take whatever it was off the wall for a closer look, but got a nasty surprise when he found out that the item was sharp. "Ah!" He whispered loudly as a clear slice began to bleed across his hand. It then dawned on him that the item wasn't just sharp, but deadly as well. He reached for it again, this time using his metal arm and was able to pick it up with no problems. Another flash revealed to the hedgehog that what he was holding was a sword. He grinned evilly at his new weapon even if it wasn't a preferred gun.

Lightning struck again and now that Shadow was closer to the wall, he could make out other items to. The hedgehog stepped back in shock when he noticed shuriken stars lining the rest of the room. A suspicious look was present on him, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions. He tried to think of any way to get light that lasted longer than a second and then he realised that the two Chaos Emeralds he had could glow, and glow brightly. The sword was placed on the bed so that Shadow could get one emerald in each hand and just as predicted, they lit up the room with ease.

Many varieties of shuriken star, kunai and the odd sword were all over the walls, which he could now see were painted black and purple. "No…" He began to whisper repeatedly until he looked at the picture frame he had noticed earlier. Right there in front of him was a photo of Espio, Vector and a 6 year old Charmy who looked happy, or at least relaxed in Espio's case. Shadow's face went pale and his expression saddened significantly as he was hypnotised by the sudden surge of pain that ran through him. While he wasn't close to Vector, he was indirectly the reason that the mammal became so close to the other two, but he was gone now as was Charmy, the only one he truly considered to be a son.

Last, but not least, Espio, who was stood on the far left of the picture with his arms folded. Without thinking, he put the emeralds on the bed next to him and gently picked up the picture only to place his hand where Espio was stood. His bottom lip began to tremble and several tears fell. "What's wrong with me?" His voice was shaken, but he tried his best to fight it off. "He's fine without me, he doesn't need me anymore and dammit I don't need him!" No matter what he said the tears just kept coming and every glance back towards the purple chameleon only made it worse. He suddenly buried his face in his hand and allowed his grief to overcome him. "Alright! You win again, Espio!" He began to yell against the noise of the storm outside. "You have brought me to my knees without even being here! I can't take it anymore! I admit it, okay?! I miss you, Es! For fuck sake, come back! Let me know you're okay! Chaos fucking dammit!"

* * *

**_The next morning…_**

* * *

The beams of the sun had returned the next day to reveal the aftermath of the overnight storm.

Many more buildings had gone down, thankfully nowhere near where Shadow was and bodies of infected lined the flooded roads. The hedgehog awoke with the previous night being a blur in his head. He heaved himself up off of the floor and figured that he must have somehow dozed off during his sudden breakdown. Shadow thought about just leaving and continuing his never-ending walk, but he had never been in Espio's room before and would probably never be here again, so he instead decided to look around since the ninja wasn't nearby. Looking under the bed or within the chameleon's closet would be far too easy. Shadow knew him well enough that if he had anything personal or important, then he would keep it very well hidden. Somewhere not too far, but at the same time a place where no one would think to look.

The hedgehog felt a slight stab of guilt, but if he could somehow get into the ninja's head even a little bit, then at least it wouldn't have been for nothing. The first place he checked was underneath the floorboards, but the only thing that stirred up was dust before deciding to search the set of two drawers that were next to the bed since that required less effort.

Neither drawer wielded anything out of the ordinary, just some smaller knives and a few pens. Wedged into the side was a small piece of string which for whatever reason, Shadow felt the need to tug at to see if anything would happen. To his surprise however, something did happen. Lifting the string caused the bottom of the drawer to lift with it, which revealed a small yet well-polished wooden box. The hedgehog carefully picked it up and put it on the bed next to the sword and his two emeralds. What was inside it had the black mammal lost for words. Upon opening the box, his gaze landed upon a gun, ammo and a folded sheet of paper. His first instinct was to look at the paper, which turned out to be a note. It was very neatly hand-written by the chameleon himself and helped Shadow understand him far more than he had originally anticipated.

'_I am aware that anyone could find this and do what they like with it, but the way I'm feeling at the moment doesn't allow me to care. This note is for the sole purpose of explaining how I'm really feeling and the reason why the gun may have been used._

'_No one really knows me, which is more of a blessing than anything else. All you really know is that I am a ninja and that I am quiet. If you want to keep it that way, then I suggest you stop reading now, but if not, then go right ahead and continue. I'm not going to halt your actions._

_I am Espio the Chameleon, born and raised in the Shinobi clan who reside in the Dragon Kingdom. I am not one to write down my thoughts or emotions, but this time I feel that it is necessary. I am miserable. I may not act it, but I assure you that I am. I get up early to meditate, but all that really does is prepare me for another stressful day ahead with the only two people I allow to be near me. I know Charmy is young and perhaps doesn't understand much, but the only reason for that is because of those Egg Grape Chambers that he was trapped in. If it wasn't for those, not only would he be a lot calmer, but a lot more aware of the world around him. Deep down however, I see the real Charmy and he is certainly one to keep an eye on._

_I cannot hold the same tolerance for Vector. Perhaps he has good intentions, but he only shows that he cares if the situation requires it. I threatened to leave at one point and he was on his knees begging like a child. The only reason I stayed was because I would've had nowhere else to go, no way of earning myself money and I didn't want to leave Charmy. That little guy deserves so much more, yet he seems so content with the same thing every day. I envy the way he seems to shrug everything off, because it is all slowly caving in on me. This leads me nicely to why a gun is placed here, assuming it is still here._

_This weapon is for the day that I cannot take a second more, if that day were to come. I am alone despite those around me. Charmy wouldn't understand and Vector is far too self-involved to even take notice. He complains day in, day out about every single little thing in the paper, yet he is too blind to realise when one of his 'closest' friend's is on the edge of suicide. Just like everyone else, he just assumes._

_What am I here for anyway? Apart from a tool to be used for earning money. I could go on forever about that, but I shall get back to the point._

_It's not that I want to be existent to everyone else; I am perfectly fine with being on the side-lines. All I want is for someone to be here with me. A companion who understands and won't leave when things get rough. An outcast like myself who is looking to share their personal darkness._

_I just want someone… but who?_

_I shall leave this here with the gun and some ammunition. Keeping it loaded would be dangerous in case it ever went off. I only want it to fire when I pull the trigger._

_To anyone close to me who may be reading this, it's not that I don't care, of course I do, but the only way I can explain it is that it's like a weight on my back which is steadily getting heavier. It will crush me some day and that is what this is for._

_May it never come to that, but in case it does then this will be here to answer some questions, though certainly not all of them._

_We shall meet again,_

_Espio.'_

Shadow was speechless. His eyes were wide at the words he had just read.

"I wish you'd told me. I'd still be with you now, unless that was the point?" He thought out loud. Snapping back to reality, he looked around thinking that Espio would catch him looking through his belongings despite the very slim chance of that happening. He put the note back and decided to take both the gun and ammunition and place the sword back on the wall, even with the blood stain on it. The hedgehog made sure everything was back where he had found it before going downstairs. The majority of the flooding had drained, but there was still the odd puddle upon the wrecked flooring. He searched the kitchen and found some old, but usable bandages for his sliced hand. Once he felt ready, he ventured back outside to an even more devastated city.

Infected were everywhere, but none of them were alive. Shadow questioned if he would need a gun at all anymore since the storm, but concluded that you can never be too careful. Chances are, not all of them were dead. His walk continued yet he felt as if he had been on a journey already. He was ashamed to admit that he was also someone who had assumed that the ninja was simply quiet and had no clue as to what was really going on inside his head. However, the note didn't have a date on it, but he knew it was from before the crocodile had gone missing.

* * *

Days felt like years now as Shadow had left the city and found himself in what he could only assume used to be a forest. Half unexpectedly, there were infected which he disposed of easily with his handgun. As he travelled through the pillars of charred wood, something brightly coloured caught his eye. He went to investigate only to find the tragic death of two more of his friends. Lying in front of him was the bodies of several infected and the bodies of both Cream and Tails.

"What the fuck happened?" The hedgehog whispered in a state of shock. They were both leant up against a tree, but what disturbed Shadow the most was that Tails had a bullet wound through his head and was holding Charmy's gun in his hand. Snuggled up in Cream's hand was Cheese, but he didn't look happy and cheerful like he usually did. He looked scared and kept his eyes locked onto Shadow as if to tell him to back off.

The hedgehog dared to step closer, but Cheese looked as if he was about to attack him. Shadow didn't have many options here; he could either take Cheese and risk potentially getting his hand bitten off or leave him with his dead owner. The Chao's glare made it clear that Cheese's loyalty wouldn't break, even when death was involved. Shadow nodded in understanding and took a few steps back before looking around nearby.

A small distance away from the pair was something which shook the mammal further. Laying there was Espio's ninja sword which was now heavily blood stained. Looking back at Cream, he noticed a clear slice through her neck as well as the infected that also had deep slice marks. None of it made sense and Shadow was too shaken up to think straight. He studied the ground further to notice blood leaving the area in another direction. Judging by how far apart they were, the mammal figured that whoever was hurt was running away and the only other person alive now who could possibly bleed was Espio. Upon realising this, Shadow began yelling his name whilst following the blood trail.

If he was injured then it would only be a matter of time until he ended up like the others or worse, became one of them. Shadow was determined to find him this time and if he did, he would never let him go again.

* * *

The crimson trail was getting easier to follow as the stains became more frequent. Shadow was now keeping silent for fear that any nearby infected would close in on him. What the black hedgehog had forgotten about however, was that Espio wasn't the only one left who could bleed and he was about to find out who it really was. He was halted in his search when he came across a certain white hedgehog sat against a tree, panting heavily. A sinister grin slowly revealed itself as he stepped closer to the vulnerable male. As soon as Silver spotted the approaching Shadow, he was sent into a panic and began begging for any kind of mercy.

"Sh-Sh-Shadow! L-look I'm sorry for what I did, okay?! I was in a panic! I-I didn't know what I was doing!"

"And that makes it all okay, does it?" Shadow said with a calm, but deadly growl.

"N-n-no! Of course not, but karma got me to! See?! See?!" Silver revealed his left arm, which he had hidden behind his back. Shadow took a moment away from his dark intentions to study the hedgehog fully. The arm he was showing him had a very deep slice while his other arm still had the bullet wound. Around his shoulders were several clear teeth marks.

"You were bitten, but not eaten?" Shadow questioned. Silver was breathing quickly and shaking uncontrollably.

"I got them off with my powers and flew off in a panic, but this infection is slowing me down." The white hedgehog explained.

"Where's Espio?" Shadow asked him.

"Who?" Silver looked confused for a second until he remembered.

"_Well, there's the memory loss…"_ Shadow thought.

"The chameleon, dammit!" He yelled back causing him to jump.

"I-I haven't seen him. I swear!" Silver panicked.

"Then you are going to help me find him." Shadow demanded.

"Why?"

"You don't have to, of course." Shadow smirked. "But then, you can sit here and become an infected just for me to kill you later." Silver's eyes widened. "Plus if you did help, then I would make sure your death was as painless as possible. So, it's entirely your choice. Either stay here and become infected or help someone other than yourself to die painlessly." The white mammal looked unsure and Shadow's grin didn't give him any confidence. "Look, you're going to die either way, you've been bitten. Just pick one and stop wasting my time." Shadow snapped at him.

"Alright, alright… I'll help." Silver decided. "Can you help me up?"

"Sure." Shadow then yanked him up by his injured arm.

"AHH! What the fuck, Shadow?!" He yelled at him.

"Walk. Now." Shadow ordered before Silver began limping in front of the black hedgehog. The sky was just starting to be stained with red which told both hedgehogs that it had been at least an hour. Silver's limp had gotten no better and Shadow was becoming impatient. "See anything yet?" he growled at him, but only got a huff in return. "Well?" He growled louder.

"No, alright?!" Silver snapped at him. "What is it you even want from me? I'm not exactly in any shape to be of use to you."

"You're walking, aren't you? Besides, I think it's about time you redeemed yourself a little after you killed Charmy. I don't think Blaze will be looking too kindly on you anymore." Shadow smirked knowing that he had hit a nerve in the other mammal.

"Don't you fucking dare." Silver warned him, but Shadow's smirk only grew.

"Then don't tempt me." Shadow replied. The forest still had an uncomfortable atmosphere even with the lack of vegetation. It got increasingly harder to see as the sun went down and to the surprise of both of them, the temperature had noticeably dropped.

_"Maybe the weather has finally got its act together."_ Shadow thought. He also wondered why Silver hadn't used his powers on him yet. Surely, Silver realised that Shadow was going to be his killer whether he had a choice or not. Maybe the hedgehog had lost the will to fight? But that seemed so out of character. Maybe he had forgotten he had powers? It seemed incredibly farfetched, but Shadow remembered Tails explaining the early symptoms of the infection, one of them being memory loss, so it wasn't impossible. For seemingly no reason, Silver stopped walking which nearly caused Shadow to walk into the back of him.

"What is it?" Shadow asked, but Silver didn't answer him with words. Instead, he picked Shadow up with his psychokinesis and slammed him into the ground; just like he did with Charmy which forced him to drop his gun. The white hedgehog was quick to pick it up and run. Shadow, despite not being able to move for a few moments looked up to see what was going on and what his eyes greeted him with terrified him to his very core. Silver had his arms wrapped around the neck of none other than Espio and had the gun pointed to his head. The black mammal got up very slowly to avoid provoking him. "Es-Espio!" Shadow panicked.

"Shadow?!" Espio replied in just as much shock.

"Enough chit chat!" Silver interrupted.

"Wait one fucking moment!" Shadow yelled over him. "What the hell are you doing?! I thought you were infected?!" An obvious, twisted grin was clear on Silver's face as he replied with smugness littering his words.

"Oh, I am however, one key detail you should know is that these bites were from days ago, which can mean only one thing." The white mammal chuckled, which only sparked a white-hot rage to bubble inside Shadow, but because of the situation, he was forced to stay where he was.

"You fucker! You knew you were immune!" Shadow screamed at him.

"That right! And I managed to trick you, the Ultimate Lifeform, into thinking that I was this vulnerable little boy. Much like a certain someone I killed. I can't help but be damn proud of myself for not just fooling anyone, but fooling you." This hit many nerves in Shadow and Espio alike and Silver was certain that the ebony male would lunge towards him out of sheer anger, but one look at Espio helped him to keep composed.

"Do you have no fucking remorse for what you've done!?"

"At first, but this world is about survival of the fittest now and I am not going to fall just because of your revenge." Silver explained.

"_At least you match your powers, you complete fucking psycho."_ Shadow thought.

"Now, you have a choice to make, hedgehog." Silver went on, bringing Shadow out from his thoughts. "I have said before, someone else should feel the kind of despair that I have been through. Maybe then they'll understand just how mad it can drive you." The black hedgehog was now staring at Espio; noticing the much darker purple in his scales and the dullness of his usually bright, golden eyes. The most disturbing change was the visibility of his ribs through his skin, which led Shadow to notice his panting and shivering. The chameleon had clearly not eaten in a while which explained his lack of fighting back against Silver, but he was also cold which Shadow remembered could potentially kill him however, before he could think of a swift way to end this once and for all, Silver spoke again. "In order to inflict the same pain upon you, then one of you is going to die here and now, but hey, to make this even better, you get to choose."

"What?!" Shadow panicked.

"You have to pick which one of you will be shot, while the other gets to rot away on this rock." Shadow stared straight at Espio with a terrified look and the exhausted ninja did the same in return, as if begging to one another for an easier, better way out. "So, who will it be?" Silver paused and grinned whilst having his gaze locked upon the powerless other hedgehog.

"You or Espio?"


	20. Irreversible Impact

**Here we are again! It pains me to say this but, this is the last chapter, the finale. I really, really don't want this story to end. I have loved every minute of writing, coming up with ideas, struggling to come up with ideas, getting over-emotional at my own writing and seeing how you guys react to each chapter. I really hope you like how it ends. I wanted it to be perfect since this was the most fun to write.**

**I'm really going to miss writing this, since it's taken up a lot of my time these past few months.**

**Well, I'll let you read it and finish it just as I have. I hope you all enjoy the ending and I will see you all again soon!**

**Farewell! Thank you for making these past few months a blast! I couldn't have written a 20 chapter story without you support!**

**Much love to you all!**

**Arby xx**

* * *

The temperature was pleasant. The sky was a flawless blue with the sun high and proud. A gentle breeze was present to stop things going to the extreme once more. At his feet, grass had begun to grow again as did other vegetation, but he knew that 11 years of the only weather being a heat wave wouldn't recover overnight. The hedgehog, whose scars had now healed, was stood in Espio's old meditating field alone. His breathing was calm and his arms were crossed as he had returned to his trance. Many thoughts ran through his mind as he re-lived the horrible incident 2 weeks prior.

* * *

_**2 Weeks Earlier…**_

* * *

"So, who will it be?" Silver paused and grinned whilst having his gaze locked upon the powerless other hedgehog.

"You or Espio?"

"Espio doesn't deserve this. Let him go Silver." Shadow answered instantly. For him, there was no doubt, he would gladly die in order to save the one he cared about.

"Shadow, wait." Espio interrupted. "Think about this for a second. Remember that my life is limited and I will die at some point anyway. Think not just about us, but the entire planet. If there is a way to rebuild society, even if it's hundreds of years from now then you will be there to see it through. If I live now then I have only a few decades left, assuming I survive after this." The chameleon explained to him, but Shadow didn't want to believe what he was hearing.

"Es… please tell me you're not asking what I think you're asking." Shadow begged, but Espio kept a hard stare straight into his eyes which let the hedgehog know that he really meant everything he had just said.

"I never thought it would come to this either, but some people just can't let things go." Espio growled clearly hinting towards Silver who dug the end of the gun into his head harder in response. "Please Shadow, you know I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't necessary." The chameleon's voice began to tremble.

"Espio… you're asking me to let you die." Shadow told him bluntly.

"I know, but it's okay. I won't hate you for it. Sacrifice one to save many, right?" The reptile tried to reassure him, but they both knew that was out of the question. Shadow looked completely helpless. "Please…" Espio begged. With tears running down his face, the black hedgehog finally spoke.

"Okay…" He whispered. "But only if this is what you really want." Espio nodded.

"It's not a matter of wanting. You need to live, Shadow. Everything will be fine; we will see each other again. May this goodbye be only temporary." A tiny smile appeared on the hedgehog as he remembered hearing those words before.

"I love you, Espio." Shadow replied unexpectedly. Sudden tears from the chameleon showed how much his words had caught him off-guard.

"Love you too, Shadow." He replied. "You need to go. You can't see this." Espio told him. They both stared into each other's eyes and for a moment, the world around them ceased to exist. This felt so surreal for both of them while Silver relished in the fact that he was going to make another soul suffer the same torment he had. With no warning, Shadow turned and ran; not daring to look back for fear that his legs would turn him around. The mammal fell to his hands and knees as soon as a single gunshot echoed. He felt like he didn't deserve the life he had been given. So many had fallen because of him and now, for the second time in his life, the closest one had died just for him to live.

* * *

_**Present Day**_

* * *

His entire body shivered at the vivid images in his head and a small whimper escaped him. He thought of the many ways the situation could've gone, but didn't because he was so caught up in the moment. The hedgehog found it odd how emotion can completely overwhelm someone like it did to all three of them. Silver's grief had driven him to madness and the love Shadow and Espio had for each other drove them to wanting to die for the other to live.

"So much could've happened." Shadow whispered to himself. "Could I have saved you?" His first thought was using Chaos Control to either slow time down or teleport behind Silver. They were both out of the question since the hedgehog would've simply pulled the trigger as soon as he saw the glow of the emerald. He sighed loudly before closing his eyes again.

* * *

_**2 Weeks Earlier...**_

* * *

The area was quiet afterwards apart from Shadow's inconsistent, rapid breathing, but something else seemed to disturb the silence. Heavy footsteps were getting louder as they came towards the broken hedgehog. Shadow was half-hoping that it was just infected that had been attracted by the sound of the gun, but then why were they coming towards him?

"Shadow." A familiar, monotone voice said to him.

"Omega?!" Shadow got up instantly as if it was a reflex.

"Follow." He said simply before going the way Shadow had just come from. The black mammal was unsure whether to listen at first, but his curiosity wouldn't allow him to just stand there. He caught up to the robot who had now stopped. With a deep breath, Shadow stepped around him to see what Omega wanted him to see. Both Silver and Espio were on the ground not moving. Silver had a clear bullet wound through his skull which made no sense to Shadow since Omega had run out of ammo long ago.

"What happened?" Shadow asked as he walked over to where Espio lay with more tears in his eyes.

"I had seen Silver in the air and proceeded to follow him. I lost him since he flew quicker than I could keep up with. Once I had found him again, I scanned him to notice that he had Espio and was armed. With no ammunition, I instead charged into him and knocked him to the ground. Espio was the one who shot him. He then told me before he passed out that you had gone that way, so I came and found you in order to bring you here." Omega explained.

"Wait, he's alive?!" Shadow asked him.

"Affirmative." Omega responded. Shadow then picked Espio up in his arms only to feel how cold he was.

"Follow me, Omega. I know a place nearby where we can go." Shadow told him and they all sped off out of the ruined forest and back into the city to the old Chaotix HQ. The hedgehog carefully placed Espio in his bed and wrapped him in his bed sheets. He then held onto him tight so that his own body heat would warm him up quicker.

* * *

_**Present Day**_

* * *

Shadow was brought out of his thoughts when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. A smile instantly appeared on his face knowing who it was. He began to purr when Espio rested his head on his right shoulder and nuzzled into his neck.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" The chameleon asked him, who had now returned to his normal colour of purple.

"Just remembering how close I was to losing you." Shadow admitted. "If it wasn't for Omega, then you wouldn't be here. Doesn't it frighten you how close that was?" The hedgehog asked.

"I'll admit I was scared, but no matter how close the situation could have been from going horribly wrong, just remember that it didn't. Not to mention, I could've died after that if it wasn't for you risking your quills to go back to Angel Island to find some food left over in storage." Espio told him to make the mammal feel better. "Plus, it was also thanks to you that I didn't freeze to death."

"True and this time you were allowed to have funny ideas." Shadow smirked at him.

"Believe me, if I was in a better state, then I would have." They both chuckled. "And your purring isn't helping." Espio added.

"Aww, well that's too bad." Shadow teased causing Espio to playfully hit him in the shoulder. They both turned when they heard Omega coming up behind them. Shadow had fixed him up as best he could as a 'thank you' for saving Espio's life.

"Greetings, Omega." Espio welcomed him while Shadow simply nodded. "The sun really does glare off of you now." The chameleon commented after being nearly blinded by the reflection coming off of Omega.

"We'll be with you in a few minutes, Omega and then we'll scout around for supplies. Just wait by the front door, okay?" Shadow told him and Omega walked away from the pair. The hedgehog then returned the hit in the shoulder that he received earlier. "Now, we're even." He said smugly, but Espio wasn't going to let him get away with it that easily. In the blink of an eye, he tripped the unsuspecting hedgehog and pinned him to the ground.

"Now, we're even." Espio said mimicking Shadow's earlier statement.

"Are you sure about that?" Shadow purred seductively as he ran his hand down Espio's spine. A sensation ran through his entire body causing him to collapse on top of Shadow. The hedgehog chuckled under his breath at how fast he could have the chameleon at his mercy.

"I hate you." Espio replied as he stared into his deep, red eyes.

"Love you too." Shadow replied earning himself a quick make out session before they both got to their feet.

"We had better go and meet with Omega." Espio told him and Shadow agreed.

"Unless you have any other ideas you need to get out before we leave." The hedgehog asked with a sly grin which also appeared on Espio as he moved right next to Shadow's ear.

"You just wait till later." He whispered. A shiver went through the mammal's body and his cheeks went a bright red.

"I hate you." Shadow said nervously.

"Love you too." Espio replied as a slight revenge from earlier before running off after Omega with Shadow chasing after him.

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

The planet gradually returned to normal now that the weather was no longer determined to make every living thing burn. Vegetation thrived, which meant food and water were no longer an issue. The only problem now was the lack of other life forms. The trio had searched cities to find the only other things alive being the odd infected, which would then be killed.

The three eventually returned to Angel Island, since all the spores had cleared, to see if they could somehow get the Master Emerald to help in the planet's recovery. However, they had no such luck since Knuckles was the only person they knew who could control it and they all knew what happened to him. They then decided to seek out the remaining four Chaos Emeralds to see if Shadow could use their power.

* * *

Many months later and they had all seven. The three they had originally helped them greatly in their search and allowed it to pass by quicker. They discussed about going into the future, but then concluded that it would only be the same as the present not to mention that they needed two people who could use Chaos Powers in order to do so.

"We can't just leave the world like this." Espio clearly missed the world before the heat wave and genuinely wanted to do something about it, but they were all clueless.

"But, there's no visible way to return everything to how it was before." Shadow replied. The hedgehog was lying on a grassy hill with Espio lying next to him. Omega was stood nearby listening to the conversation, but not talking. "Besides, humanity was just a pain." Shadow added. "You remember how they were hunting you down."

"I know, but it's not just the absence of humans, there aren't any animals either. This place just seems so isolated now." Espio explained.

"You never know, there might be someone or even a group of people who have made it through the past 11, nearly 12 years. It's not like we've searched every inch of this planet yet, we still haven't been to the Polar Regions."

"And you think that unlikely group of people can re-populate a planet?" The chameleon asked.

"If I'm honest with you, I hope they don't." Shadow admitted. Espio sighed and sat up. "Oh, come on, it's not like we need them to live our own lives. All they did was rule over us and tell us what we could and couldn't do. Now, we can do that on our own and we… well you, can eat a decent amount without starving yourself in order to pay rent." The hedgehog's words actually made the reptile feel a lot better. 'Money' no longer existed which meant no more rent, bills, debt or anything like that. It lifted an enormous weight off of the chameleon's shoulders and he was suddenly able to relax a lot more realising that. "And for the record, you already have a companion who understands and won't leave when things get rough." Espio gave him a weird look upon hearing his last sentence.

"…Where did you get that from?" He asked. Shadow opened his eyes and looked at him with a serious expression as he also sat up.

"You already know where I got that from. During the rainstorm a little while back, I sheltered at your place. Before I left the next day, I found your note, gun and ammo." He remained serious and prepared himself for Espio to get angry, but he didn't. He just looked away and saddened. "It's okay, Espio. You're not alone and never will be again." Espio smiled and gave Shadow a hug, but had an uncomfortable look when he pulled away.

"What about when 'my time' comes? If you know what I mean." The chameleon asked which caused Shadow to look equally concerned.

"Uh… I don't know. Maybe I could bring you back to life with the Chaos Emeralds, it worked for Sonic." Shadow sounded hopeful but Espio remained unsure.

"We'll have to see, I guess." Espio relaxed once more deciding that all the future complications weren't worth thinking about for now. He laid back down and rested his arms behind his head. Out of nowhere, Shadow rested his head on the reptile's chest. Espio's eyes shot open, but he soon calmed at the sight. He moved one hand to stroke the hedgehog behind the ear and then run it through his fur. Shadow couldn't help but purr as he loved the feeling and even nuzzled further into his hand. "You're adorable, you know that?" Shadow blushed at his comment.

"No, I'm not." He grumbled. "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, powerful in every way."

"Sure, and your purring really reinforces that." Espio giggled. Shadow wanted to argue, but was powerless when he ran his hand through his fur again.

"…Shut up." Was all he could come up with making the chameleon laugh more. They continued to relax, extremely content in each other's company until the sun went down. Shadow then Chaos Controlled the three back to the Chaotix HQ, which they had fixed up a lot since they had technically moved in. Omega would remain downstairs in stand-by mode, just in case someone or something happened to wander in. The other two would both stay in Espio's room and sleep each night away in each other's arms.


End file.
